Ward spent just six
months on the English Riviera after joining the Gulls in the summer of 2006
following his release by Aston Villa, who he had played for in an FA Youth Cup
final in 2004 alongside the likes of Gary Cahill, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Luke
Moore.
He was persuaded to
move to south Devon by the then Torquay manager, and fellow Brummie, Ian
Atkins, amid interest from Stockport
County
During his time at Plainmoor, Ward was converted from being a right-winger into a centre forward and scored 11 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions before he was sold to
At this time the
Gulls were in the midst of Chris Roberts’s brief but calamitous reign as
Chairman, which plunged the club into turmoil, during a campaign in which
Torquay were relegated from the Football League.
His sale
effectively ended any realistic chance that the Gulls had of avoiding
relegation to the Conference for the first time ever. Nevertheless, Torquay did
benefit two years later from a 25% sell-on clause when Ward was sold by the
Spireites to Sheffield United for a fee of £330,000.
Ward’s career has
gone from strength to strength since then, and he is currently plying his trade
with Championship promotion chasers Derby
County and has won 13 caps for Northern Ireland
Now, as we head
into 2015, he also has the potential to do something that the province’s
favourite son George Best never managed to do: play in the finals of a major
tournament as Northern
Ireland
Ward, who qualifies
to play for Northern Ireland
through his grandfather, has been ever present in all but one match during
Michael O’Neill’s side’s qualifying campaign thus far, as they aim to become
the first Northern Ireland side
to reach the final stages of a major tournament since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico
Northern Ireland
are currently second in qualifying Group F, which includes Romania, Hungary,
Finland, Faroe Islands and Euro 2004 winners Greece, after winning three of
their opening four qualifiers. This run includes a 2-0 win over the Greeks, in
which Ward and his strike partner Kyle Lafferty found the target.
Their qualification
prospects have been enhanced by UEFA’s decision to increase the number of teams
participating in the finals from 16 to 24, which means smaller countries now
have a greater chance of qualifying for the main stage.
All of the nine
group winners and runners-up will qualify automatically, along with hosts
France and the third placed team with the highest number of points. The
remaining eight third-placed teams will then go into a two-legged Play-off. So O’Neill’s
men could finish third in their group and still qualify for the 2016 finals
that are due to be held in France
Should Ward go on
to represent the province in France ,
he will become the first ex-Gull to appear in the latter stages of a European
Championships since Keith Curle represented England
at Euro 92 in Sweden
He will also be the
first former Torquay player to appear in the final stages of a major tournament
since Paul Hall played for Jamaica
at the 1998 World Cup, which was also held in France
