30th NOVEMBER A BUSY ANNIVERSARY

 On 30 November 1872, England and Scotland played the first ever official international, which ended in a scoreless draw.

The two countries had actually played five earlier matches, with England winning three of those and the other two ending in draws, but FIFA does not consider them full internationals, as the Scottish sides were mainly limited to players based in the area surrounding London, where the matches were played.

In October 1972, the FA decided to play a match against Scotland in Glasgow "to further the interests of the Association in Scotland." There was no Scottish FA at the time, so the Scotland's oldest club, Queen's Park FC, stood in for the national team, with all players coming from that club. Nine different clubs were represented in the English side, with Oxford University having the most players at three.
Played at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, the match started after a 20-minute delay for fog. 4,000 people were there to watch, paying a ticket price of one shilling each. Scotland had the best chances of the day, with two shots hitting the crossbar (actually, a strip of tape hung between the top of the posts), but neither side managed to find he back of the net and the match ended 0-0.

Scotland v England (1872) was the first ever official international football match to be played. It was contested by the national teams of Scotland and England. The match took place on 30 November 1872 at West of Scotland Cricket Club’s ground at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Scotland. The match finished in a 0–0 draw and was watched by 4,000 spectators.

STEAM LOCOMOTIVE FLYING SCOTSMAN BECOMES FIRST TRAIN TO OFFICIALLY EXCEED 100 MPH – NOVEMBER 30, 1934

Released November 30th 1982

EXXON AND MOBIL MERGE TO BECOME THE LARGEST COMPANY IN THE WORLD – NOVEMBER 30, 1999

THE BRENTFORD PENGUINS

 

Former Spurs player Allan Cockram loves his post-professional coaching career, but his team has one amazing difference. Allan gives up his time to run the Brentford Penguins – the UK’s only football team for children with Down’s Syndrome. Come rain or shine, Allan is there every Sunday morning to coach more than 30 children aged between 5 and 19 and says it’s the highlight of his week. 

Nothing is Impossible! for children with Down's Syndrome.

Supported by the Brentford FC and the Professional Football Association.
https://www.planetpenguinfootballfoundation.com/brentfordpenguinsblog

Brentford Penguins Football Club was formed in 2017 and has gone from strength to strength. It is a non-profit organisation and works in partnership with the D.S. Active and Brentford Community Sports' Trust. Many local community football clubs offer pan-disability training sessions, but children with DS weren't always given the attention they needed. It was decided to start up a very specific and unique football club for any child aged 5+ who has DS. Not only is the club open to players with DS but also encourages parents and siblings to also join in. This has a positive impact on the family as a whole, giving them an opportunity to have something to do together and strengthen their relationships!!

​Brentford Penguins FC give participants an opportunity to socialise, to make friends and have a fulfilling social life whilst creating a sense of belonging alongside their peers.

​Our sessions have improved physical health, emotional and mental well being, strengthened relationships and achieved social well being. The players have also improved their communication and teamwork skills which helps with their development and integration within society, as well as building on their fitness, strength and coordination.

We are very proud to have achieved this so far and have been able to do this with the love and support of our Penguin family.

© 2017 Planet Penguin Football Foundation

Registered Charity No. 1202901

Proudly designed by W3bster.net

The Guardian newspaper has done a report on Brentford Penguins. Brentford Penguins FC is a football programme run by former player Allan Cockram. Their sessions based at Gunnersbury Park are open to anyone with Down’s syndrome aged eight and over. Allan was a popular Brentford player in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He played just over 100 games for The Bees in his time with us. He runs a Penguins squad that features Woody O’Rourke, one of our very well-known fans who captured the nation’s hearts after his celebratory hug with Thomas Frank after the first game of the season against Arsenal. To mark World Down's Syndrome Day (the global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012) on 21st March we invited the Brentford Penguins FC to our recent game against Burnley. The 21st day of the third month, was selected given the significance of the number 21 – Down’s syndrome occurs when an individual has an extra partial (or whole) copy of chromosome 21.  Allan explained how a conversation turned in to setting up the team in 2017.  “I played football with the son of a friend. We built a bond. The boy died of complications relating to Down’s in the mid-1990s, aged just 14. I vowed that one day I would set up a football club for people with Down’s syndrome. Fast-forward 20 years and I had the opportunity to do it. We all need to belong to something bigger than ourselves. The smiles on their faces. That family environment, you see them flourish. The friendship they have for each other is crazy.” Note Allan's career table below, including coaching at Cambridge for the University squad.

Personal information
Full name	Allan Charles Cockram
Date of birth	8 October 1963 (age 60)
Place of birth	Kensington, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team	Cambridge University (manager)
Youth career
1975–1981	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1981–1985	Tottenham Hotspur	2	(0)
1985	San Francisco Flyers
1985	Bristol Rovers	1	(0)
1985	San Jose (indoor)
1985–1986	Farnborough Town
1987–1988	St Albans City	44	(25)
1988–1991	Brentford	90	(14)
1991	Woking
1991–1992	Reading	6	(1)
1992	Farnborough Town
1992	Woking
1992–1996	St Albans City	98	(25)
1996–1997	Chertsey Town
1999–2000	Leatherhead
International career
	England Youth
Managerial career
1985	San Francisco Flyers
1994–1996	St Albans City (player-manager)
1996–1997	Chertsey Town (player-manager)
2019–	Cambridge University

THE WIMBLES AND DONS

On 27 November 2004, the two-year old football club, AFC Wimbledon, located in Merton, South London, set an English record by playing in their 78th consecutive league match without a loss.

Dave Anderson was appointed as new manager on 11 May 2004. Under his leadership AFC Wimbledon took their good form into the 2004–05 season during which they competed in the Isthmian League First Division— they remained top of the division for the duration of the season, and were convincing title-winners, sealing promotion to the League's Premier Division. The Dons secured another double by defeating Walton and Hersham  FC 2–1 in the Final of the Surrey Senior Cup on 3 May 2005. Over the course of the season, AFC Wimbledon set a new record for the longest run of unbeaten league games at any level of senior football in the United Kingdom.The team remained unbeaten for 78 league matches between 22 February 2003 (a 2–0 defeat at home to Withdean 2000) and 4 December 2004 (a 2–0 defeat at Cray Wanderers).

The club crest, which is based on the coat of arms of the Municipal Borough of Wimbeldon, features a black double headed eagle in reference to a local legend that Julius Caesar once made camp on Wimbledon Common, this symbol being his own attributed coat of arms.

The club had been founded in June 2002 by former supporters of  Wimbledon FC, after their club had relocated to Milton Keynes. 

The new team entered the English football pyramid in the ninth tier, the Combined Counties League, but rose quickly. After losing 2-0 to Withdean 2000 on 22 February 2003, they went unbeaten for the remainder of the season and narrowly missed out on promotion. Their unbeaten streak continued throughout their entire second season as they finished on top of the table in 2004 and jumped to Division 1 of the Isthmian League.

They passed the old record holders, St. Blazey, on 13 November 2004 by drawing 1-1 with Bromley in the 76th match of their unbeaten run. After a 2-0 victory over Dulwich Hamlet the following week, they travelled to Bashley for their record-setting match. Bashley went up 1-0 in the 9th minute, but were undone by set pieces. Wimbledon's Matt Everard equalized in the 60th minute with a header from a corner kick, then Martin Randall gave the visitors the lead with another header from a corner in the 89th minute.

Wimbledon's streak ended on 4 December with a 2-0 loss to Cray Wanderers, but they won the league for their second consecutive promotion. They were promoted twice more, in 2008 and 2009, currently playing in the fifth tier, Football League Two.

Some up to date records for that Christmas quiz (courtesy www.)

 

Association Football: Goals and goalscoring records.

Record	Player	Nationality	Year(s)	Details
Player with most official goals of all time	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	2002–present	Cristiano scored 867 goals in his career.
Player with most club goals	Josef Bican	Austria  Czechoslovakia	1931–1957	Bican scored 781 goals in 493 matches with ten different clubs during his 27-year long career.
Player with most international goals	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	2003–present	128 goals International goals in 205 games.
Player with the most goals scored in a calendar year	Lionel Messi	Argentina	2012	Messi scored 91 goals in 69 matches in 2012 for Barcelona and Argentina
Player with most club-goals scored in a football season	Lionel Messi	Argentina	2011–12	Messi scored 73 goals with Barcelona during the 2011–12 season.
Player with most international goals in a calendar year	Sándor Kocsis	Hungary	1954	Kocsis scored 23 goals in 14 games in 1954 with the Hungary national football team.
Player with most goals scored for a single club	Lionel Messi	Argentina	2004–2021	Messi scored 672 goals for Barcelona during 17 seasons.
Player with most goals scored in an international match	Archie Thompson	Australia	2001	On 11 April 2001, Thompson scored 13 goals, in the Australia 31–0 American Samoa match during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Player with most goals scored in a top tier league match	Hacène Lalmas men	Algeria	1962	Scored 14 goals in the match Ruisseau 18–0 Birtouta in 1962–63 Algerian Championnat National.
	Shokhan Salihi women	Iraq	2022	Scored 15 goals with Al-Hilal against Sama in the 2022–23 Saudi Women's Premier League.
Player with most goals scored in any division tier league match	Yanick Manzizila	Democratic Republic of the Congo	2014	Scored 21 goals in the match Kongo United 30–0 Balrog Botkyrka.
Player with most goals scored in a domestic cup match	Stefan Dembicki	France	1942	In the preliminary round of the 1942–43 French Cup, Dembicki scored 16 goals in the RC Lens - Auby Asturies match (32–0).
Player with most penalty kick goals	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	2002–present	Cristiano scored 158 penalties goals.
Player with most free kick goals	Juninho	Brazil	1993–2013	Juninho scored 77 free kicks goals.
Highest goal-scoring goalkeeper of all time	Rogério Ceni	Brazil	1990–2015	Ceni scored 129 goals in 1,236 games.
Youngest international goalscorer	Aung Kyaw Tun	Myanmar	2000	On 6 November 2000, Aung Kyaw Tun scored for Myanmar in the 2000 AFF Championship match against Thailand (3–1 defeat) at 14 years and 93 days.
Oldest international goalscorer	Billy Meredith	Wales	1919	On 11 October 1919, Billy Meredith scored for Wales in the 1919–20 British Home Championship match against England (6–1 win) at 45 years and 73 days.
Longest distance goal scored	Tom King	Wales	2021	On 21 January 2021, goalkeeper King scored from own six-yard box, a distance of 96.01 meters (105 yds) for Newport County in the 1–1 draw with Cheltenham Town, in League Two.

THE HEART OF THE GAME

November 26th 1914: Heart of Midlothian, the Scottish club from Edinburgh. was preparing for the 1914/15 Scottish League season, as the previous campaign had resulted in a third place in the Scottish League, amounting 54 points. With a philosophy of "all out attack", the team was predicted to win the coming league title, the first, since 1897. Hearts started well beating Champions Celtic 2-0 in the first match and then won seven on the trot. But it was 1914 and Britain had entered the Great War. Hearts lost the service of George Sinclair and Neil Moreland, two Army reservists. The influential Jimmy Speedie, who had been the difference agajnst Celtic, then "joined up", but Hearts kept going.

After 16 games the team had lost only once and topped the league. 21 year old Henry Wattie was a forward who had been impressive too, but the club was aware of tens of thousands of soldiers from their local region dying on the battlefields and the local mood was very much against the footballers who had not joined up. "When will the footballers come?"

Soon 13 club players joined up and Hearts marched en masse to the recruitment office, volunteering to fight. Hearts had 16 players in service and the club records noted that "the lead established by these gallant youths reverberated through the length of the land". Within two weeks, 600 fans followed the players' example and went to battle. Needless to say, many died alongside their footballing heroes.

Meanwhile, Hearts led the league for 35 weeks out of 37, but the war took its toll and Hearts faltered. finishing 4 points behind Celtic. It seemed unimportant and by the end the war seven Hearts players including Speedie and Wattie never came home. Hearts won the league again in 1957! 

In 1875, Hearts became members of the Scottish FA and were founder members of the Edinburgh Football Association. Members of the Scottish FA, Hearts were able to play in the Scottish Cup for the first time. Hearts played against 3rd Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers FC in October 1875 at Craigmount Park, in Edinburgh. The game ended in a scoreless draw. A replay was held at the Meadows which again finished 0–0. Under rules at the time both clubs progressed to the next round with Hearts losing out to Drumpellier in the next round.

The Football World Championship, also known as the United Kingdom Championship or the International Club Championship, was a exhibition match played between the English and Scottish club champions on a regular, but not annual, basis in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with varying degrees of press attention and public interest. Perhaps the most widely publicised match at the time under the 'World Championship' name was the 1888 match between Renton (Scottish FA Cup winners) and West Bromwich Albion (The English FA Cup winners).

The 1895, a World Championship match took place at Tynecastle Park (Edinburgh), on 27 April 1895, between Sunderland, Winners of the England Football League and the Scottish League Champions, Heart of Midlothian. The match was won by Sunderland 5–3.

A wealthy miner, Samuel Tyzack and shipbuilder, Robert Turnbull, funded the Sunderland team known as the "team of all talents." Turnbull often pretended to be a priest while scouting for players in Scotland, as Sunderland's recruitment policy enraged many Scottish fans. In fact, the Sunderland lineup in the 1895 World Championship consisted entirely of Scottish players!!! who moved to England to play professionally and in those days were nicknamed the Scotch Professors.

The game was not the first World Championship Match between English and Scottish sides; and it was the second such club competition won by an English team, with previous winners being Aston Villa (English Cup winners) beating Renton (Scottish Cup winners). The Scottish and English leagues were pre-eminent in the world at that time. However, it was the first ever game played between the respective champions of two different leagues. (A first ever "European Championship??)

TOMORROW-More on the "World" Championship matches.