MATCH OF THE DAY

ALONGSIDE MATCHSTICK MEN, LOWRY CAPTURED THE SPIRIT OF A FOOTBALL MATCH

- CHARLES HANSON

AS regular readers of this column know I am a lifelong Derby County supporter. Despite our rocky start to the season, I have high hopes for this Saturday’s away fixture against Ipswich Town FC at Portman Road.

Football is a huge part of my life, stemming from a special working-class tradition that I am proud to be a part of. It was a passion instilled in me by my father who first took me to see Derby play at the Baseball Ground in the 1980s.

Almost a century earlier, another dad keen to pass on his passion for the game to his son, was an estate agent’s clerk called Robert Lowry, who also ran the local youth team.

While his moniker might not be immediately familiar, if I tell you his son went by the name Laurence Stephen, or LS Lowry, you will likely get the reference.

While Lowry junior never excelled as a player, he did develop a lifelong appreciation of the beautiful game - a theme which was to frequently crop up in his later work.