ON-LOAN York City defender Keith Lowe has revealed that his new club’s strikeforce are quickly gaining a reputation as one of the most feared in League Two.

Lowe, 28, was a member of the Cheltenham back four that were on the receiving end of a Ryan Bowman brace during this month’s 2-2 draw at Whaddon Road.

Those goals were among 13 that the Minstermen have rattled in during their last five fixtures and Lowe admitted that Cheltenham took special pre-match measures to try to keep their visitors off the scoresheet three weeks ago.

Bowman has scored three League goals in as many starts for the Minstermen since his summer switch from Hereford, while fellow close-season signings Ryan Jarvis and Wes Fletcher have also hit the target eight and seven times respectively this term.

Of his new team-mates’ firepower, Lowe said: “We knew at Cheltenham that York were very good going forward and that we would be in for a tough match when they came to our place so we worked on a few sessions to try to nullify that.

“Bowey still got two goals against us, though, which shows the strikeforce York have is very good for this division.”

Ex-Wolves centre-back Lowe has arrived from Cheltenham after three-and-a-half years with the Robins and, having also previously worked under manager Mark Yates at Kidderminster.

He has insisted, however, that any sadness at leaving the Gloucestershire club behind is superseded by the prospect of his new challenge, adding: “The move came out of the blue really.

“I got a phone call from my agent saying York were interested and I jumped at the chance to come here. I really liked what the manager had to say and he made me excited to come here.

“It was a bit difficult to leave Cheltenham behind because I have got a lot of friends there and I have worked with the manager and his staff for a long time in my short professional career but the lads have welcomed me in and I feel at home already.”

With both clubs believed to be open to the possibility of making Lowe’s move permanent during the January transfer window, the 6ft 2in tall former Championship campaigner has one eye on the future too, saying: “Any loan move can lead to something more long-term and I have come here to do my best and see what happens. I will give my all and put my body in front of shots if that’s what it will take to help the club climb the League.”

Having been out on loan to five clubs – Burnley, QPR, Swansea, Cheltenham and Port Vale – while on Wolves books, Lowe is also optimistic that he can establish a quick understanding with either Dan Parslow or David McGurk at the heart of the Minstermen’s defence.

On forging partnerships, he said: “It can take a couple of games but I’ve never had any problems before so we will see how it goes and, if selected, hopefully I can slot in and do well.”

Lowe is joining a City team with only one clean sheet in 16 matches from the club with League Two’s worst defensive record.

Cheltenham have shipped 28 goals this term but, on the mitigating circumstances for such a record, Lowe pointed out: “Squads change at this level over and over again and you get a quick turnover of players.

“That’s been partly the reason for the stuttering start Cheltenham have made and there were lots of individual mistakes at bad times that cost us as well.”

Lowe reasoned, though, that the fortunes of his 17th-placed parent club this season illustrates the thin line between success and failure in a division that the Robins have managed to secure a play-off place in during the last two campaigns.

He said: “There are narrow margins. Cheltenham are now six points off the play-offs and six points off the relegation zone.

“It’s really tight and, if you string a couple of wins together, it can push you up the table.”

Like City, Lowe will be facing Phil Brown’s Southend for the first time in 2013/14 but is expecting a challenging debut in Essex tomorrow.

“We all know it’s a tough place to go to and that they are a decent side,” he added. “There will be a lot of balls going into our box and a lot of direct play, so we will need to be on our game.

“I don’t have any worries when we are in possession because I have already seen the quality all the players have on the ball from one training session. We just need to shut things up at the back and, hopefully, come away with something.”


Match facts

YORK City have made 20 Football League trips to Southend, winning four times and drawing seven.

Their last victory at Roots Hall was 1-0 in 2001/2 when Jon Parkin, making his City debut, was the scorer.

The corresponding fixture last term was on October 27, 2012 and finished 0-0.

The side lined up: Ingham, Parslow, C Smith, Carlisle, Fyfield, Kerr, Blair, Kearns (Oyebanjo), McLaughlin (J Smith), Chambers, Walker.

Players who have appeared for both clubs include Barry Conlon, Mark Tinkler, Gordon Connelly, Neil Tolson and Nigel Pepper, with Alan Little the managerial link.

It happened on November 23

1957: A 3-1 home victory over Crewe Alexandra with Peter Wragg, Billy Hughes and John Robertson on target. The crowd for this Division Three North fixture was 6,322.

1970: Paul Aimson hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 home win over Tamworth in a first round FA Cup replay. The attendance was 5,390 and also on the scoresheet were Phil Boyer and Dick Hewitt.

1976: Dudley Town were beaten at Bootham Crescent 4-1 in a first round FA Cup replay in front of 2,933. The scorers were Ian Holmes (2), Micky Cave and Brian Pollard.

1996: Neil Tolson netted the goal in a 1-0 Second Division (League One) win at Gillingham.

1999: Colin Alcide scored on his debut in a 1-0 home win over Shrewsbury Town in the Third Division (League Two) in front of 1,857.

2002: A 1-0 victory at Rochdale thanks to a Peter Duffield goal in the Third Division.

Compiled by Dave Batters