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Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 167, 10 July 1888, Page 3

Writing of the visit of the English footballers to Melbourne a correspondent states :— There was considerable speculation before Saturday as to how they would shape in the Victorian game, and it was considered just a little absurd for them to attempt to play Carlton, the premier club, with such a limited knowledge of the game as they had derived from four practices. However, the arrangements were made and the match_ eventuated. Almost any odds could be obtained against the Englishmen, as many as ten goals being given by Carlton’s most ardent admirers. The weather was propitious, and between twenty-five and thirty thousand persons assembled on the M.C.C. ground to witness the struggle. From the first the Englishmen were like the individual who fell out of the balloon—they were not in it. An imperfect acquaintance with the rules resulted in many free kicks being given against them, and the Carlton’s scored pretty well as they liked.