Stephen Ward (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Robert Ward is an Irish
footballer who plays for English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers
and the Republic of Ireland national football team
. He is able to play in a variety of positions, namely left back, left midfield and as a striker.
Ward began his senior career with Bohemians
in his native Ireland, before moving to English Championship
side Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2007. Featuring regularly, he was part of their promotion to the Premier League two years later and has remained a key part of the team since.
and played schoolboy football for Home Farm and Portmarnock. Ward joined Dublin-based League of Ireland
side Bohemians
from Portmarnock in the summer of 2003. He scored twice on his debut as a substitute against Skerries Town in the FAI Cup
on 15 August 2003. His form in Ireland attracted interest from various English sides. The 2006 season with Bohemians
ended up being his last and he made a total of 93 appearances for the club, scoring 24 times.
side Wolverhampton Wanderers
in January 2007 on a two-and-a-half year deal. The fee, although undisclosed, was reported to be £100,000 – then a record for the League of Ireland
.
Ward had a bright start to English football scoring three times in his first six games, earning him the Championship Player of the Month Award for February 2007; his first goal came against Plymouth Argyle
on 3 February. He featured in all of Wolves remaining fixtures as they reached the promotion play-offs where they lost to local rivals West Bromwich Albion
.
The next season was less successful for Ward as he was mostly used in an unfamiliar left midfield role, covering for the injured Matt Jarvis, but announced he was happy to play anywhere. Later on in the season, Ward himself also suffered injury woes as he was struck down with patellar tendinitis that ruled him out for four months, as the team narrowly missed a second successive play-off spot.
The 2008–09 season again saw Ward adopt a new position as he was converted to a makeshift left back, after George Elokobi
sustained knee damage in only the third game of the campaign. Despite the emergency purchase of natural full back Matt Hill, Ward was often preferred in the spot anyway, helping the side win promotion to the Premier League.
Ward began the club's return to the top flight at left back role, but he soon suffered a cartilage injury that kept him out of action for two months. Returning in December, he made a total of 22 league appearances as the club managed to avoid an immediate return to the second tier.
During the 2010–11 season, Ward filled a variety of roles, playing left back, left midfield and as a striker. One game up front saw him net his first Premier League goal, when he scored the only goal of the game against Liverpool
at Anfield
on 29 December 2010. He was part of the team that avoided relegation on the final day of the season.
He is signed to the Molineux
club until Summer 2015.
squad on 4 May 2011, for friendlies against Northern Ireland
and Scotland
as well as a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia. He made his national team debut on 24 May 2011 in a Nations Cup game against Northern Ireland
, where he opened the scoring in a 5–0 victory. Ward made his competitive debut for the Republic of Ireland against Slovakia
in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match, during which he kept a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw. Ward scored his second international goal in the second leg of the play-off for UEFA Euro 2012 against Estonia
, sealing Ireland's place in their first major tournament since 2002
with an unprecedented 5-1 aggregate win
.
Republic of Ireland:
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
footballer who plays for English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
and the Republic of Ireland national football team
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
. He is able to play in a variety of positions, namely left back, left midfield and as a striker.
Ward began his senior career with Bohemians
Bohemian F.C.
Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...
in his native Ireland, before moving to English Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
side Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2007. Featuring regularly, he was part of their promotion to the Premier League two years later and has remained a key part of the team since.
Early career
Born in Dublin Ireland, Ward grew up in PortmarnockPortmarnock
Portmarnock is a small suburban village to the north of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the administrative county of Fingal.-Location:Portmarnock lies on the coast and, owing to its proximity to Dublin city, is a form of dormitory village north-northeast of the city centre...
and played schoolboy football for Home Farm and Portmarnock. Ward joined Dublin-based League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
side Bohemians
Bohemian F.C.
Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...
from Portmarnock in the summer of 2003. He scored twice on his debut as a substitute against Skerries Town in the FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
on 15 August 2003. His form in Ireland attracted interest from various English sides. The 2006 season with Bohemians
Bohemian F.C.
Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...
ended up being his last and he made a total of 93 appearances for the club, scoring 24 times.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
After a successful trial, Ward joined English ChampionshipFootball League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
side Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
in January 2007 on a two-and-a-half year deal. The fee, although undisclosed, was reported to be £100,000 – then a record for the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
.
Ward had a bright start to English football scoring three times in his first six games, earning him the Championship Player of the Month Award for February 2007; his first goal came against Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
on 3 February. He featured in all of Wolves remaining fixtures as they reached the promotion play-offs where they lost to local rivals West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
.
The next season was less successful for Ward as he was mostly used in an unfamiliar left midfield role, covering for the injured Matt Jarvis, but announced he was happy to play anywhere. Later on in the season, Ward himself also suffered injury woes as he was struck down with patellar tendinitis that ruled him out for four months, as the team narrowly missed a second successive play-off spot.
The 2008–09 season again saw Ward adopt a new position as he was converted to a makeshift left back, after George Elokobi
George Elokobi
George Nganyuo Elokobi is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a defender for English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers....
sustained knee damage in only the third game of the campaign. Despite the emergency purchase of natural full back Matt Hill, Ward was often preferred in the spot anyway, helping the side win promotion to the Premier League.
Ward began the club's return to the top flight at left back role, but he soon suffered a cartilage injury that kept him out of action for two months. Returning in December, he made a total of 22 league appearances as the club managed to avoid an immediate return to the second tier.
During the 2010–11 season, Ward filled a variety of roles, playing left back, left midfield and as a striker. One game up front saw him net his first Premier League goal, when he scored the only goal of the game against Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
on 29 December 2010. He was part of the team that avoided relegation on the final day of the season.
He is signed to the Molineux
Molineux stadium
Molineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...
club until Summer 2015.
International career
Ward finally got his first full call-up to the IrelandRepublic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
squad on 4 May 2011, for friendlies against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
as well as a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia. He made his national team debut on 24 May 2011 in a Nations Cup game against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
, where he opened the scoring in a 5–0 victory. Ward made his competitive debut for the Republic of Ireland against Slovakia
Slovakia national football team
The Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...
in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match, during which he kept a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw. Ward scored his second international goal in the second leg of the play-off for UEFA Euro 2012 against Estonia
Estonia national football team
The Estonia national football team represents Estonia in international association football. Team members are selected by the head coach of Estonian Football Association . Estonia play their home matches at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....
, sealing Ireland's place in their first major tournament since 2002
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
with an unprecedented 5-1 aggregate win
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs
The UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-off ties were played over two legs, with the first legs on 11 November and the second legs on 15 November 2011...
.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 24 May 2011 | Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium The Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 50,000 spectators. The stadium is built on the site of the old Lansdowne Road venue, which was demolished in 2007, and replaces that stadium as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the... , Dublin, Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,... |
1–0 | 5–0 | 2011 Nations Cup | |
| 2. | 15 November 2011 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland | 1-0 | 1-1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-off UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs The UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-off ties were played over two legs, with the first legs on 11 November and the second legs on 15 November 2011... |
|
Honours
Wolverhampton Wanderers:- Football League ChampionshipFootball League ChampionshipThe Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
(I): 2009
Republic of Ireland:
- 2011 Nations Cup