Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
LOWE... It's no one-man band thing anymore.
ONANDI LOWE did not score a goal in his Portmore United debut and Wray and Nephew National Premier League (NPL) return against Constant Spring, but he certainly had every reason to be pleased with his performance.
"I feel good. Over one year and a couple of months I haven't played any football, I feel good to know that I can come back and redeem myself," the towering striker admitted after giving a decent display in the reigning champions' 3-0 victory off two Kevin Deerr penalty kicks and Anthony Bennett's toe-punch near the finish.
Lowe had a very brief stint at Arnett Gardens last season. Prior to that, he was inactive while fighting a drug charge in England earlier this year.
PLAYED ABROAD
A former key man in the Reggae Boyz et-up, Lowe played abroad extensively in the United States and later Britain, where he led Rushden and Diamonds' promotion to English League One (then Nationwide Division Two) and then signed with Championship (previously Division One) club Coventry City.
Speaking more about his run on Wednesday afternoon and third-placed Portmore's advance to 30 points - 19 off runaway leaders Harbour View - Lowe noted: "Basically I'm working on my fitness ... and still challenging for the Premier League title. It's football and it's not over until the season is over."
Playing at centre forward for the full 90-plus minutes, the big forward, as usual, was more than a handful for the opposing defence, manned mostly by centre half Marlon Bennett, himself shouldering a fair bit of weight.
HOLDING OFF THE BIG MAN
With his feet and to a large extent his hands, Bennett nonetheless did a fairly good job of holding off the big man despite being spared a red card by referee Courtney Campbell when, as the last defender, he clutched arms around Lowe from behind and hauled him down near the penalty box.
This was after the forward had bundled his way past Bennett and was bearing down on the goalkeeper in the first half.
There were other occasions when the big man - who was training with Waterhouse earlier this season - was prevented from advancing by illegal means which went largely unpunished, prompting a spectator to shout on several occasions: "a nuh because him big, but blow the foul dem ref".
It was a day when spectators fought all the battles for Lowe, as in an uncharacteristic display to the clear dissentions aimed at match officials for no-calls, Lowe simply got up and went on with the job, or just smiled when what appeared the obvious calls did not come his way.
Yet still, the 31-year-old player who made some deft passes with both his head and feet as his team fed off him and whistled a couple of free-kicks just wide of the upright, said his all-round approach on the bumpy Ferdie Neita Park surface on Wednesday afternoon was all part of his new armour.
"Everybody come out to see me score, but I'm taking a different approach to my game. If I can't score, I'm not going to kill myself.
NO ONE-MAN BAND
"I'm trying to play for the team. It's no one-man band thing anymore, it's all about being a total team player. The goals will come."
Besides fitness, which did not seem a problem based on how he handled himself, Lowe said his main deficiency now was "sharpness".
"I'm not 100 per cent fit but within myself I know I'm not sharp enough so I need to work on that."
Assessing his play, his coach, Paul Young, said: "Onandi Lowe is very powerful and not easy to bundle off the ball, so we had to use his height and strength and hopefully the players would play off him. He did excellently today."Continuing, he added: "Overall I am pleased. He needs to get a little fitter but he is gelling OK."
