Sandwiched between Spain and Mexico is one particular victory that left a sweet taste in the mouth. Winning the 1983/84 British Home Championship was an achievement in its own right. Only the third time Northern Ireland had won the competition outright, claiming the trophy took on extra significance that season.
When it was announced in August 1983 that England would be leaving the tournament that had started in 1884, there were a range of emotions expressed. English apathy towards the annual event was mirrored in Scotland, as soon they would jump ship. But in Wales and Northern Ireland there was sadness, concern, and understandable anger.
The loss of earnings - estimated to be £100,000 per season - for both nations resulted in a joint letter from the Irish and Welsh FAs appealing to England to reconsider. But low attendances in all matches bar the Anglo-Scottish clashes, and a desire to participate in more glamorous friendlies meant that the 1983/84 championship would be the last.
FA Secretary Ted Croker was frank in his defence. "The reality in this instance is that we just do not have enough gaps in the fixture list to play the top teams in the world, such as West Germany, Russia, Italy or the South Americans, and continue the Home Internationals. The matches against Northern Ireland and Wales are no longer the major attractions and crowd pullers that they once were, even when they were played in Wales or Belfast, and so it was felt a halt had to be called."
So on Tuesday December 13, 1983, the last British Home Championship commenced with Scotland visiting Windsor Park to take on Northern Ireland. On the back of their brave attempt to reach Euro 84, there was a confidence about Bingham's Northern Ireland, and in front of 10,000, his team were too good for Jock Stein's outfit.
Graeme Souness had hit the post early on, but in windy conditions the home team grew into the match. Jim Leighton denied winger Ian Stewart in the 16th minute, but shortly afterwards Billy Hamilton crossed for Norman Whiteside to give Northern Ireland the lead.
Centre back Gerry McElhinney, playing his second match after an impressive debut in Hamburg, hit the side netting, and although Scotland later had a goal disallowed, the continual pressing game of Northern Ireland denied the visitors any room to express themselves.
Skipper Sammy McIlroy drove home a second after 55 minutes and Paul Ramsey was denied due to a goal-line clearance, yet Northern Ireland's 2-0 win proved a satisfactory experience against one of the nations that had elected to leave the tournament.
In a strange twist of fate, Northern Ireland had been drawn in the same World Cup qualifying group as England, with Wales and Scotland also paired together. The next two matches in the championship would see rehearsals for these meetings; in February 1984, Scotland defeated Wales 2-1 at Hampden Park, before Northern Ireland made the trip to Wembley on the evening of Wednesday April 4.
England manager Bobby Robson was a man under pressure. Failure to reach Euro 84, and a recent 2-0 defeat in France, led to many questioning whether Robson knew what his best XI or formation was. He was hardly helped when six players pulled out of his original squad to face Northern Ireland.
Bingham had concerns before the match. With Pat Jennings breaking his nose in a club match, Ballymena player-manager Jim Platt had to step into the big shoes left by the experienced keeper. "I'm dying to win but I'll be quite content with the draw, and a narrow defeat wouldn't upset me," Bingham admitted, He would have to settle for the latter option.
In truth, Northern Ireland were unlucky to lose 1-0, in front of just 24,000 at Wembley. "Northern Ireland had the better knit team and the contrast in understanding and organisation ought to have brought them victory or at least enabled them to avoid defeat," David Lacey noted in the Guardian.
Tony Woodcock's header won the match for England, yet in a night when returning captain Martin O'Neill impressed, along with McIlroy and Stewart, missed chances proved costly. "One of our failings is that we are not great finishers," Bingham admitted, on a night when Hamilton and Gerry Armstrong spurned opportunities.
The win may have papered over the cracks for England, but their 1-0 loss in Wrexham at the start of May left the tournament wide open. "England plunged to new depths of humiliation last night," Steve Curry noted in the Express, completely missing the point that Wales came within seconds of qualifying for Euro 84. It's little wonder that Wales manager Mike England was particularly elated after the win.
Wales' final home match in the tournament would be played at Swansea's Vetch Field on Tuesday May 22. In 1982, just 2,315 attended the Wales-Northern Ireland match at the Racecourse Ground, with this match being used as one of the reasons that the competition should be scrapped. Two years later, 7,845 would see the final match between the two nations in the British Home Championship.
Jennings returned, yet a facial injury saw him replaced by Platt at half-time, worrying news with Northern Ireland's first World Cup qualifier just five days later against Finland. Fortunately, Jennings did recover, although defeat in Helsinki was a poor start to the campaign for a country that had just won the final Home Nations tournament.
A 1-1 draw in Swansea ensured that Northern Ireland would finish above Wales. Mark Hughes had given Wales the lead shortly after half-time, and the visitors had to withstand a lot of pressure in a match that saw Nigel Worthington earn his first cap. Armstrong would score his 11th international goal in the 73rd minute to gain a crucial point.
Prior to the match, Bingham had been handed a new four-year contract. "This agreement with Billy Bingham indicates our entire satisfaction with his handling of the international team and we hope it lays the foundations for further success," Irish FA President Harry Cavan announced. That future success arrived just a few days after the Wales match.
A draw between Scotland and England would see Northern Ireland crowned as permanent holders of the trophy. And so it would transpire. A crowd of 73,064 saw Mark McGhee head Scotland in front before a stunning strike from Woodcock levelled matters. Northern Ireland and Wales finished above the two defecting nations as the tournament ground to a sad halt.
Lacey was not upset at the demise of the event. "The British Championship had to go. It was doomed from the late 50s and early 60s, a period which saw a sudden increase in club activity at home and abroad. Once the European club tournaments had started, along with the Football League Cup, the clash of interests with the needs of the international squads became more acute. Apart from the matches between England and Scotland, interest in the contest has rarely been more than lukewarm."
Despite the nostalgia, it is hard to disagree with Lacey. European club competitions, the League Cup, declining gates, and crowd violence, all combined to bring an end to the 100-year tournament. Even with the subsequent ban of English clubs in Europe it was hard to see it revived. As we are witnessing with the Nations League now, sometimes there simply is too much football.
Personally, I loved the Home Nations tournament, but like many things it probably remains in the past. Perhaps Northern Ireland fans would concur, as their fine win under Billy Bingham in 1984 gives them bragging rights as the everlasting champions. It may not have been as big as reaching Spain or Mexico. Yet it is an important chapter in the fabulous story of Northern Ireland under Bingham.
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