Jamal Lowe looking to complete amazing journey at Wembley

Jamal Lowe grew up within minutes of Wembley and trained with the famous arch in sight.

This weekend, he looks to fulfil a dream that would complete a journey from the seventh tier of English football to the promised land of the Premier League.

Just five years ago, Lowe was playing in the Isthmian League with Hampton & Richmond Borough, and has since gone on to feature in League Two, League One and the Championship with Portsmouth, Wigan and Swansea City.

Lowe, who also played for Barnet, Hayes & Yeading, Boreham Wood, Hitchin Town, St Albans City, Farnborough and Hemel Hempstead in non-league during his career, looks to complete the full set on Saturday when Steve Cooper’s side take on Brentford in the Championship play-off final.

“I was born and raised in Harrow, so Wembley is a stadium that I’ve lived close by, and I saw the new one being built,” said the Swans forward.

“Being at Barnet, you could see the arch from the training ground.

“To say we are heading to Wembley - it’s something that I’ve dreamed about and worked hard towards. But the job is not done – there is a lot of hard work to go. We’ll see after the game on Saturday.”

Lowe makes his second trip to Wembley on Saturday, having featured in Portsmouth’s EFL Trophy victory against Sunderland in 2019.

It proved a memorable occasion as Lowe found the net in extra-time, and again in the penalty shootout, as Pompey saw off Sunderland on spotkicks.

That proved a landmark moment for the Jamaican international, and he makes his Wembley return knowing that one big factor proved a constant during his rise up the divisions.

“I always kept believing in myself,” points out Lowe when referencing his journey from the seventh tier of the English system.

“Obviously, there were times when it was mentally, physically and emotionally tough, but I always had the faith that it would work to some extent in the professional game, whether that was League Two, League One, the Championship or the Premier League.

“I didn’t know how far it would go, but I always had faith that I could go up the leagues. Hopefully we can go up another one this weekend, but, as I say, there’s a lot of hard work to put in just yet.”