By Paul Jones
Former Swansea star Jamal Lowe thanked Bristol City fans for their respect and solidarity in sending a message of support to Welsh international David Brooks.
Surrounded by his Bournemouth teammates, Lowe held up the No.7 shirt of the absent Brooks after the scorer had just silenced the home support with a well-struck volley to give the visitors the lead in the Cherries’ 2-0 weekend win as Ashton Gate.
It was a gesture that might have drawn abuse in a different context, but Brooks has revealed he is starting treatment for cancer and the reaction of the home fans was as dignified as their applause in the seventh minute, moments earlier.
Bournemouth & Bristol City fans 7th minute applause for David Brooks
Lovely gesture by both sets of fans yesterday
📸 @benmeadbcfc #afcb #BristolCity pic.twitter.com/KSdgBOlMkI
— The Away Ends (@_theawayends) October 17, 2021
“To be fair, the home fans had really responded in the seventh minute with the applause for Brooksy,” said Lowe.
“He deserved that and Bristol City’s fans did it really well. Ordinarily, I think they might booed me for celebrating in front of them. But they couldn’t really do that this time.”
Bournemouth’s players had arranged before the game to show their support to Brooks, their Welsh international teammate who was diagnosed last week with Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma.
Lowe admitted he struggled initially to locate the shirt placed behind the goal – about the only difficulty the Championship leaders had all day as they moved back to the top and remained unbeaten.
He added: “We said we would have a shirt near the goal. It was case of trying to find it! It took me a while to see it!
“Everyone has been in contact with Brooksy and wishing him well. But at the same time we have to respect his privacy.
“He is obviously going through a really tough time, but he knows that he has people around him who care about him and wish him well.
“It has been a very tough week, but we wanted to bring some positivity to the club and we managed that.”