Keith Alexander v Brian Laws
This was a barnstormer of a battle. Keith’s 2002/03 season is the stuff of legends, an ‘us v them’ affair that had opposition managers fuming. We’d beaten Scunthorpe 1-0 at our place in September, then stolen a 0-0 draw in February. The first tie had been overshadowed by a leg break for James Cotterill of the Iron, something Laws was apparently sething about. They still finished above us, two points clear, but were our opponents in the play-off semi-final.
What happened next is the tale of Simon Yeo and our remarkable comeback, but that overshadows a battle between two managers that transcends time. We took a 3-0 lead, only for Scunthorpe to pull three back. As they did, Laws launched his water bottle in the air, turned to the Imps fans and shushed us. After that? History.
After the game, Laws refused to shake Keith’s hand.
“I’m not too pleased with it,” said Keith Alexander. “At the end of the day, it’s a game of football but, if he doesn’t want to shake hands with me, then that’s down to him.”
“What’s between me and Keith will stay between us,” replied Brian Laws. “We both know what it’s about and we’ll leave it at that. I’m not getting into talking about it.”
The needle went on. Like Murphy and Gradi, Laws had claimed City were just a long-ball side, but a 5-3 win was a sweet moment. “According to one or two clever people in their camp, we’re a long-ball team who can’t play football, aren’t we? The result speaks for itself, and I’m pleased to go there with any sort of lead,” said Keith after the game.
Laws criticised the pitch and attempted to whip up some atmosphere at Glumford Park by sticking a flag in the centre circle. The former Forest defender was left with egg on his face as the Imps completed the win with a 1-0 victory in the second leg.
