Sheffield Wednesday and ex-Portsmouth and Swansea man Jamal Lowe: ‘I haven't a bad word about Kenny Jackett - apart from that Sunderland game'

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Jamal Lowe insists he hasn’t a bad word to say about former Pompey boss Kenny Jackett - apart from his shock omission against Sunderland.

And the former Fratton Park favourite is adamant he has never discovered why he was benched for that fateful League One play-off second leg in May 2019.

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By his own admission, Lowe flourished under the management of Jackett and in 2018-19 had established himself as the Blues’ 17-goal top scorer, including memorably netting at Wembley in the Checkatrade Trophy.

However, with Pompey trailing 1-0 to the Black Cats after the first leg of the play-offs, he was dropped for the decisive fixture at Fratton Park.

Jamal Lowe has never found out the reason why he was dropped for Pompey’s play-off second leg against Sunderland in May 2019. Picture: Joe PeplerPicture: Joe PeplerJamal Lowe has never found out the reason why he was dropped for Pompey’s play-off second leg against Sunderland in May 2019. Picture: Joe PeplerPicture: Joe Pepler
Jamal Lowe has never found out the reason why he was dropped for Pompey’s play-off second leg against Sunderland in May 2019. Picture: Joe PeplerPicture: Joe Pepler

According to Lowe in new book Played Up Pompey Four, even his team-mates were surprised at the manager’s decision, with the winger having started all but two of their league matches that campaign.

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And despite being brought on in the second half, Pompey were held to a goalless draw and eliminated 1-0 on aggregate.

‘Unfortunately I was forced a bit too far from goal, so had to pass to Brett from the byline - and he tapped home from two yards for a 3-0 victory. He later jokingly called me greedy, but he would have done exactly the same!

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‘So Peterborough visited the south coast in April 2019 in a must-win game and it was 2-2 heading into the 73rd minute, when Brett broke down the right and, with just their keeper Aaron Chapman to beat, he elected to square a pass to Viv Solomon-Otabor, who scored from an offside position. Ivan Toney got their winner two minutes later and that was the end of automatic promotion.

‘Brett either had to be selfish in that position or Viv needed to hold his run and I certainly don’t know why he chose that particular moment to start passing. Just finish it, that’s what he does! Brett was trying to do the safe thing, yet it was no time to be safe. Take responsibility on your shoulders - and if I was him, I was definitely shooting.

‘I was rested for the final match against Accrington Stanley, with a 1-1 draw securing us fourth place and a League One play-off semi-final game against Sunderland. The whole winning the league thing had clouded our vision a bit and the reality was a slap in the face. It was tough to stomach, but I still felt the play-offs were our route to take - and we didn’t capitalise on that.

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‘I haven’t got a bad word to say about Kenny Jackett as he always played me - apart from the second leg of that Sunderland semi-final.

‘Trailing 1-0 for the decisive fixture at Fratton Park in May 2019, he dropped me, Ronan Curtis and Anton Walkes from the starting line-up, bringing in the fit-again pair Pitman and Lee Brown, while Solomon-Otabor was also recalled.

‘I was our 17-goal top scorer and had started all but two of our league games that season - but I was left out of such a huge match. It didn’t make sense. I don’t know why I was dropped, no-one ever explained it to me.

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‘I was informed the previous day and none of my team-mates could believe it. I couldn’t believe it. I’d played 54 games in 2018-19 by that point and I know tiredness has been mentioned by others as a potential reason, but you can’t be tired for a play-off semi-final second leg. That’s not the day to be tired and I was absolutely fine.

Popular Pompey winger Jamal Lowe is featured in Played Up Pompey Four. Picture: Joe PeplerPopular Pompey winger Jamal Lowe is featured in Played Up Pompey Four. Picture: Joe Pepler
Popular Pompey winger Jamal Lowe is featured in Played Up Pompey Four. Picture: Joe Pepler | PinPep Media / Joe Pepler

‘Unless Kenny is asked, we will never get the answer because he didn’t tell me. I replaced Solomon-Otabor in the 53rd minute, but the game finished goalless and we lost 1-0 on aggregate. Ronan didn’t even get on, despite Kenny still having one more substitution left, and he kicked off afterwards.

‘It was a double whammy. Not only were our promotion hopes destroyed, it also turned out to be my final Pompey appearance - not that I knew that at the time.’

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Following spells at Wigan, Swansea (twice), Bournemouth and QPR, he is currently at Sheffield Wednesday, where he has netted twice in eight matches this season.

And the Owls are scheduled to visit Fratton Park on Friday, October 25, representing Lowe’s first return since his £2.5m departure more than five years ago.

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He added: ‘That summer, after 119 games and 29 goals, I moved to Wigan, although I would have stayed at Fratton Park had we reached the Championship, 100 per cent.

‘It’s all ifs and buts and never happened, of course, but had we achieved promotion I would have remained. Honestly. The idea of leaving the Blues only truly entered my head once the season had finished.

‘That summer, Wigan put in their first offer and I decided it was time to leave. This was an opportunity to reunite with Paul Cook and play in the Championship. It felt right and I was ready to step up a level to test myself, although my departure became a little more difficult than it needed to have been.’

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Played Up Pompey Four is priced £18.99 and available from the Pompey Store and Waterstone’s in Portsmouth, Fareham, Chichester, Petersfield and Whiteley.

It can also be ordered online from Amazon. For player-autographed copies, email [email protected]

Played Up Pompey (paperback) and Played Up Pompey Three are also still available - email [email protected]

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