ELLIOTT Ward’s polished performance on his Blackburn Rovers bow came as no surprise to his manager.
Ward made his first senior appearance in nearly four months in last Saturday’s 3-0 FA Cup victory at Oxford United.
But the experienced defender belied his lack of game time to help Rovers keep their first clean sheet in eight matches.
MORE TOP STORIES:
Ward was handed his debut after Paul Lambert chose to rest captain Grant Hanley’s first-choice centre-back partner Shane Duffy.
Duffy is not long back from a groin injury, which had seemed set to rule him out long term, and he is also just two bookings away from a two-game ban.
The Republic of Ireland is expected to go straight back into the starting line-up for Saturday’s Championship clash at Middlesbrough.
But Rovers boss Lambert admits that Ward, a free transfer arrival from Bournemouth last month, has given him a selection poser.
“But I’d rather have that than not,” said Lambert of the 31-year-old, who has impressed his team-mates on the training ground.
“Wardy is very experienced and a good player. He’s a terrific reader of the game, a terrific passer of the ball, and he sees danger. I knew exactly what we would get from him. He gives you composure.
“Him and Grant were very good. I left Shane out because of the eight bookings thing, plus he’s had a lot of games, and he’s recently had that injury. It was big performance.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel