Onandi Lowe

Onandi Lowe (born 2 December 1974), also known as Nandi,<ref name="prolowe">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a Jamaican former international footballer who played in every outfield position, but was best known as a prolific forward. He spent some of his career in the top flight Jamaica National Premier League and had stints in North America and England. He scored 27 goals in 65 international appearances and appeared at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. However, he found himself on the wrong side of the law with drugs in the latter part of his career and has been described as "one of Jamaica's most controversial players".<ref name="prolowe"/> His son, Damion Lowe, is also a professional footballer.<ref name=Damion>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He started his career at Harbour View, before joining Canadian side Montreal Impact in 1996. He returned to Jamaica with Waterhouse the following year before signing with the American side Richmond Kickers via Arnett Gardens in 1999. He then helped Rochester Raging Rhinos to win the A-League in 2000. He joined Kansas City Wizards the following year and also had a brief spell on loan at English side Port Vale. He signed with Rushden & Diamonds in February 2002 and hit 49 goals in 90 league games. He transferred to Coventry City in March 2004 before returning to Jamaican side Arnett Gardens later in the year following his arrest by British police. He later played for Portmore United, Miami FC, and Arnett Gardens again, before he retired in 2008.

Club career

After leaving Dunoon Technical High in his hometown of Kingston,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Lowe joined Harbour View, a top Jamaican club, in 1993. A big, versatile free-kick specialist who could play anywhere on the pitch and was known for his strong left foot,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Lowe moved to Canada in 1996 to join Montreal Impact. He helped Impact to the A-League's Northeast Division final in 1997, scoring twice against Toronto Lynx in the semi-finals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He returned to Jamaica after two seasons with Impact, joining Waterhouse and then Arnett Gardens. He moved back to the A-League with Richmond Kickers, scoring 15 goals and gaining seven assists in 1999. He played for Rochester Raging Rhinos in 2000 and scored in the tournament's final, in a 3–1 win over Minnesota Thunder at Frontier Field.

In 2001, he tried his luck in Europe, joining Port Vale on loan for the end of the 2000–01 season. However, his deal at Vale Park was not made permanent after he quit the club when chairman Bill Bell refused to provide him with a car; when a reporter asked if he was upset about paying the wages of a player that had absconded, Bell replied "dunner worry kid, we won't be paying him".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He scored two goals for Port Vale, the first against Darlington in the Football League Trophy;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Vale would go on to win the trophy in his absence. He scored once in a league game against Cambridge United. He spent the rest of the year with Kansas City Wizards and scored eight goals in 20 games.

Lowe joined Rushden & Diamonds of the Football League Third Division on loan in December 2001, then signed permanently with "Diamonds" in February 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He spent two years with the club, during which time he made close to 100 appearances, keeping a goalscoring rate of better than one every two games, making him a crowd favourite at Nene Park. This record includes a hat-trick against Mansfield Town at Field Mill on 30 March 2002, as part of the club's run to the play-off final, which ended in a 3–1 defeat to Cheltenham Town at the Millennium Stadium.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He went on to score 16 goals in 42 games in 2002–03, as the club finished as the division's champions. Moving on to Coventry City in March 2004,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> he got off to a bad start with manager Eric Black after failing to report for duty following an international game.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He scored once against Crewe Alexandra<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in two matches before he was released at the end of the 2003–04 season due to his ongoing drug trial.

Returning to Jamaica with old club Arnett Gardens, he attempted to return to England with Peterborough United in March 2005 and ran into problems gaining a work permit;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> rejection for his permit also prevented him a move to Oxford United later in the year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He started the 2006 season with Miami FC in the US,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> only to be released after a month because of disciplinary problems.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After two years with Portmore United he rejoined Arnett in the Jamaica National Premier League during the January 2008 transfer window.

International career

Lowe debuted for the Jamaica in 1995. He went on to play at the 1995 Caribbean Cup, scoring in a 2–1 win over Saint Lucia at The National Stadium. He also scored at the 1996 Caribbean Cup, winning Jamaica's consolidation goal in a 3–1 defeat to Suriname at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. He formed a prolific strike partnership with Walter Boyd in the "Reggae Boyz" "Road To France Campaign" in 1998. He then found himself in and out of the team for mainly disciplinary reasons. He played two matches at the 1998 World Cup, the 3–1 defeat to Croatia and the 2–1 win over Japan, after being selected by coach René Simões.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He went on to score twice in his country's success at the 1998 Caribbean Cup, against Netherlands Antilles in a group win, as well as the only goal of the semi-final clash with Antigua and Barbuda.

He featured in qualification for the 2002 World Cup, scoring against Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago in June 2001. He featured in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He scored and was then sent off in a 2–0 win over Guatemala at the Miami Orange Bowl.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jamaica went on to lose 5–0 to Mexico at the quarter-final stage. His last international was a March 2004 friendly match against Honduras in which he also scored a goal. During his 2004 drug trial, he was suspended from international duty, and despite being cleared of the charges in 2005, the 31-year-old Lowe was not selected again. He earned 65 caps for his country.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Legal troubles

British police arrested Lowe in April 2004 for trafficking £117,000 worth of crack cocaine; he denied the charges.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The exact charge was 'attempting to possess 1.17 kg (2.5 lb) of crack cocaine with intent to supply'.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Prosecution claimed he signed for the package under the fake name of "Kevin Brown" and intended to profit financially from knowingly trafficking the drugs. Lowe countered that the fake name was to avoid paparazzi and that he had no idea about the contents of the package: "I am Jamaican, maybe you think differently. If I am a mate and you said, 'can you do that for me', I am not going to think anything bad of you."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lowe said in a police interview: "I thought he was a friend". In February 2005, he was cleared as the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He was arrested and charged in St Catherine in December 2007 for possession of marijuana.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He had been driving a car with 42 marijuana cigarettes, he posted the $300 bail and was released from custody.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Coaching career

After completing his JFF coaching certification, Lowe coached briefly with August Town in the National Premier League.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>Template:ENFA</ref>

Club	Season	League			National cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Montreal Impact<ref name="nft"/>	1996	A-League	14	9
	1997	USISL A-League	12	7
	Total		26	16
Waterhouse<ref name="nft"/>	1997–98	National Premier League	30	14
Arnett Gardens<ref name="nft"/>	1998–99	National Premier League	10	8
Richmond Kickers<ref name="nft"/>	1999	USL A-League	16	15
Rochester Raging Rhinos<ref name="nft"/>	2000	USL A-League	19	5
Kansas City Wizards<ref name="nft"/>	2001	Major League Soccer	13	4
Port Vale (loan)	2000–01	Second Division	5	1	0	0	1	1	6	1
Rushden & Diamonds	2001–02	Third Division	25	19	1	0	3	1	29	20
	2002–03	Third Division	39	15	2	1	1	0	42	16
	2003–04	Second Division	26	15	0	0	1	1	27	16
	Total		90	49	3	1	5	2	98	52
Coventry City	2003–04	First Division	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
Miami FC<ref name="nft"/>	2006	USL First Division	0	0

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="nft">Template:NFT player</ref>

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Jamaica	1995	10	3
	1996	17	3
	1997	2	0
	1998	16	2
	1999	6	0
	2000	10	9
	2001	10	5
	2002	1	0
	2003	7	3
	2004	2	2
Total		81	27

Scores and results list Jamaica's' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lowe goal.

List of international goals scored by Onandi Lowe

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Template:Abbr
1	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	1–0	2–1	1995 Caribbean Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2	Template:Dts	Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada	Template:Fb	1–0	1–3	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
3	Template:Dts	Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis	Template:Fb	3–0	3–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
4	Template:Dts	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Template:Fb	1–3	1–3	1996 Caribbean Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
5	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	2–0	2–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
6	Template:Dts	Estadio Bellavista, Ambato, Ecuador	Template:Fb	1–1	1–2	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
7	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	1–0	3–2	1998 Caribbean Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
8	Template:Dts	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	1998 Caribbean Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
9	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	2–0	5–0	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
10				3–0
11	Template:Dts	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Template:Fb	1–1	4–2	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
12				2–1
13				4–2
14	Template:Dts	Arnos Vale Stadium, Arnos Vale, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
15	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	2–1	3–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
16	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
17	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	2–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
18	Template:Dts	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States	Template:Fb	1–0	3–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
19	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	1–0	4–1	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
20				4–1
21	Template:Dts	Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela, Costa Rica	Template:Fb	1–1	1–2	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
22	Template:Dts	Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Template:Fb	1–1	2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
23	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	1–2	1–2	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
24	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	1–0	3–2	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
25	Template:Dts	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States	Template:Fb	1–0	2–0	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
26	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	1–0	2–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
27	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Template:Fb	1–0	2–2	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Honours

Jamaica

• Caribbean Cup: 1998

Rochester Raging Rhinos

• A-League: 2000

Rushden & Diamonds

• Football League Third Division: 2002–03

External links

• Template:Soccerbase
• Profile and UK career stats at Rushden & Diamonds's official site
• Template:NFT player