Scott Lindsay stood with his arms held high and accepted the praise of his supporters. He had just witnessed his Crawley Town side defeat MK Dons in the League Two play-off semi-final and reach Wembley for the first time, so naturally he and his team were taking it all in.
Their eight goals in two games may have surprised those outside West Sussex, but the manner in which they won, their courage, skill and control reflected aspects of Lindsay's image.
Crawley, who were threatened with relegation at the start of the season, are 90 minutes from reaching the third tier. It will mark a long and winding journey for Lindsay, 52, filled with tragedy, sadness, passion and positivity.
In the summer of 2019, Lindsay, then Forest Green Rovers' assistant manager, was taking his team through a grueling pre-season training camp in Devon when he received a phone call.
His wife, Haley, who had stage 4 kidney cancer, collapsed in the shower. “They had removed her kidney before this, but then we told the surgeon that they had removed it all, but it was stage 4 so there was a chance it could come back,” Lindsey said. To tell.
The cancer had spread to his spine and his legs began to weaken. “They said, 'Eventually she's going to be paralyzed, she's not going to be able to walk very soon.' It was scary. That was her last day at Forest Green. I had to.”
Lindsay and his wife Haley (Scott Lindsay) who passed away in 2019
A hospital bed has been set up in Lindsay's living room, and the pair make regular trips to London's Royal Marsden Hospital for treatment, including a trial of a series of new drugs that could help prolong Lindsay's life. It also included participation.
Two months later, Hayley died at the age of 44, leaving Lindsay and three girls, Millie, Maisie, and Molly (now ages 21, 19, and 13).
“Although it was difficult, I was proud to be able to keep her as happy and comfortable as possible over the past two months,” he says. “The girls had been watching their mother die for a long time.”
Lindsay and Haley and their three children (Scott Lindsay)
Lindsey was then a part-time coach at League Nine's Chatham Town. Two days after Haley's death, he returned to the dugout. That was his way of dealing with his grief.
“I had no idea what to do,” he says. “I couldn't even turn on the heating. I didn't know who my energy provider was. I'd never done an iron in my life. Hayley did everything.” I went from being a professional football coach to now ironing school uniforms, braiding hair, and being in charge of the school run, but my mom lived with me, which wasn't fair. I didn't want my mother to take on that role because she wasn't feeling well either. Two years later, she too got cancer and passed away.
“The girls came home and laughed and said, ‘I put on my PE kit today and the iron left a big hole in it.’ They love the fact that I tried my best to no avail. But they knew I would always be there for them.”
Lindsay has a new partner, Kelly, and she lives with his three girls and her three children from a previous relationship.
Lindsay and her daughters, new partner Kelly and their children (Scott Lindsay)
“I've changed as a person since losing my wife to cancer,” he says. “You only get one chance in life, and you only get one chance to make a difference.”
During his playing days, Lindsay was a solid right-back. His father, Keith, was a footballer who played for Scunthorpe United, Port Vale and Gillingham, among others. He remembers Keith taking him to see Liverpool matches at Scunthorpe as a child in the 1970s.
“We were waiting after the game and I remember being amazed to see Ray Clemens in action,” he says.
“Then he turned to my dad and said, 'Hello, Keith.' I thought, 'How do you know my dad?' They were my heroes. A minute later Kevin Keegan came out and did the same thing. They had played together in Scunthorpe a few years earlier. That's when he realized that his father was a soccer player and decided he wanted to be one too. ”
Lindsay and her father Keith (Scott Lindsay)
Lindsay's career was mainly outside the league, but he emulated his father by playing for Gillingham in Division Three (now League Two) in 1994. A year later, he joined Dover Athletic in the fifth division.
The 22-year-old was living in Kent with Alan Nicholls, a talented goalkeeper of the same age who played for England Under-21s and is currently at Gillingham. On the night of November 24, 1995, Nichols received a phone call from manager Tony Pulis. Stalybridge Celtic were due to play Dover that weekend but were without a goalkeeper and Pulis wanted to see if Nicholls would play. He complied and lined up alongside his housemate Lindsay the next day.
Nicholls, pictured during Plymouth Argyle's 1993-94 season (Barrington Coombs/EMPICS via Getty Images)
Lindsay vividly remembers that day and the tragic events that followed.
Scott's younger brother Matthew, 25, traveled from Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire to watch the game with his father. Dover lost 3-1 and Lindsey was sent off for the game. After the game, Nichols and the Lindsay family (Scott, Keith, and Nichols in the car, Matthew on his bike) headed back north. It was Keith's birthday, so they were planning to go out that night. During the journey, near Peterborough, they stopped briefly for Matthew to refuel.
“My brother said he was a bit bored, so Alan offered to go on a trip with him. Strangely enough, after being upset by a previous accident, my brother started saying he would never ride a bike again. “It was only an hour ago,” Lindsey said. . “He got ready and got a spare helmet out of my trunk.
“I said, 'I'm leaving, I'll go up the A1 and catch up soon.' That was the worst thing I did, because we left them. I never saw them again.
“Forty-five minutes later, I'm still driving north and I'm thinking, 'Where are these two?' So we turned around and headed back. .”
Lindsey had been driving for about 30 minutes when she encountered a road closure and flashing lights. Matthew's motorcycle collided, and he and Nichols died at the scene. Four hours later, Lindsey and his father came to the morgue to confirm their identities.
Scott Lindsay and his brother Matthew, left (Scott Lindsay)
“I always blamed myself because he came to watch me play. If it wasn't for him, none of that would have happened.”
Three days later, Lindsay was back to playing. There was no support for mental health back then. There is no counseling. “He tried to get by, but he regressed in terms of his playing career,” he says.
What was upsetting for Lindsay was seeing the toll it took on her parents, especially her father, who became alcoholics. “I always felt like he might have died[in the Matthew and Nichols motorcycle accident],” he says. “He actually died seven years later.” He was 56 years old.
It's ironic that Lindsay and Crowley were on the same page at this point in their journey. The Sussex club has been his league's consistent football club since 2011, and it was only in 2005 that he reached the non-league top tier.
Lindsay briefly served as head coach of Swindon Town in 2022 before joining Crawley in January 2023 when they were 21st in League Two, two points above the relegation zone. After leading them to safety that year, Lindsay had to make a change heading into this season. Professionalism was a big issue and popular players were given the door.
Lindsay celebrates with Crawley players after reaching the League Two play-off final (Harriet Lander/Getty Images)
Last summer, Lindsay built a hungry team that saw value in a market outside the league and one that other teams in the EFL weren't looking for. Among them is Lawrence Maguire, the younger brother of Manchester United's Harry, who has been an outstanding defender since joining on loan from this season's National League winners Chesterfield. Midfielders Liam Kelly and Clydie Lloros were also plucked from non-league, with both becoming free agents after leaving Rochdale and Oxford City. Striker Danilo Orsi, who joined from Grimsby Town, scored a hat-trick in the play-off semi-final second leg to take his tally to 22 league goals this season.
Normally, teams would be afraid to say the word 'promotion' around the training ground, perhaps due to superstition, but reaching Wembley has been an ambition since August.
“It's called the 'Law of Attraction,'” Lindsey says. “The more you talk about something, the more you reveal it, the more they believe in it. There's only one reason we're here, and that's to succeed. So, about Wembley. Let's talk. Why not?”
Crawley has impressed this season with his attractive and energetic style of football, playing aggressively up to the third, and Lindsay cites Pep Guardiola, Eddie Howe and Russell as his coaching influences. Martin is mentioned.
Their expected goal difference of 10.9 is the highest in Ligue 2, with an xG of 69.1 to 80 goals, reflecting a team that exceeded expectations all season. Meanwhile, only two teams in the league this season had an average possession rate higher than 57.1.
They started 2024 in 14th place, had 10 wins and 4 draws in 21 games, and clinched a place in the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.
On Sunday they meet Crewe Alexandra at Wembley. For Lindsay, it will be the latest chapter in a great story.
“I'll probably look around at the seat my wife was sitting in when I was an assistant at Forest Green (in 2017) and won promotion,” he says.
“I will also feel the presence of my father, mother and brother. They were great football players. I feel their energy everywhere I go. Sunday will be the same.”
(Top image: Scott and wife Hayley celebrating their semi-final victory over MK Dons. Photo: Scott Lindsey/Getty Images)
