Dan Lowson has been a safe pair hands for, well, ever, writes Ross Jackson.
Anyone who follows North East non-league football will have heard of Lows, from his time spent at Blyth Spartans, Spennymoor Town and in recent years Morpeth Town.
Bearing down on his 230th appearance for the Highwaymen when we travel to Atherton Collieries, the goalkeeper hasn’t allowed standards to slip at any point in his career.
So when Morpeth brought him in on loan way back when, that six-game spell under former manager Nick Gray was always going to be the starter before the main course.
Seeing the quality of the keeper meant he needed to be our number one for as long as we could keep hold of him.
The stopper has regularly and repeatedly saved the proverbial bacon, providing fresh impetus for those outfield to go on and turn a game around, inspired by the heroics of Lows.
But for all the focus on a match day, the 35-year-old stopper is starting to have a more pragmatic view of things on and off the pitch.
Celebrating the fact he’s not the oldest, Lowson is finding himself increasingly appreciative of a more senior role in a squad where the average age has plummeted in recent years.
And so the role of the senior players has evolved with it.
“Luckily, I’m not the oldest,” Lowson was quick to point out with a smile as we discussed the senior core of players in the current crop.
“I’m in a cluster of players who are senior figures in the squad. A lot of the lads look up to this group, the ones who come in on loan for example.
“If you generate good relationships with them then it helps them and the team massively.
“The older lads have been and played their careers and thoroughly enjoyed it. We’re at the tail end of things and you’ve just got to enjoy the time you have left in the game.
“In the last year or two, when I’m warming up and walking out before kick-off, I do stop and look around and think ‘yes, it isn’t going to last forever’ so I’m determined to enjoy it as long as I can.”
When the time does come for Lowson, at least he’ll get a break from the chairman’s incessant shouting of his name at every defensive set-piece. If you’ve watched a match day at Craik Park, you’ll know what I’m talking about!
After successive away day cleansheets, Town have shipped eight in two at home, not something Lowson is particularly pleased about with shutouts the currency of the day for any goalkeeper.
“You ask any goalkeeper and they thrive off getting cleansheets,” continued Lowson.
“It just breeds healthiness into your game and you just grow in confidence. It’s not just the case for goalkeepers, it’s the whole back five depending on how you’re playing.
“The back lads and goalkeeper, all they want to do is keep cleansheets just the same as all the strikers want to do is score goals.
“It’s your job, it’s your position and that’s what your aim is.
“Yes, you want to collectively win games and get points on the board but as a goalkeeper cleansheets is the thing you can have an influence on.”
Unless you’re a keeper who can go up the other end and score. Remember Warrington Rylands at home last season, anyone?
