Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Joseph Henry Ward [1] | ||
Date of birth | 22 August 1995 | ||
Place of birth | Chelmsford, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.67 m) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Derby County | ||
Number | 23 | ||
Youth career | |||
2009–2013 | Chelmsford City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2013–2015 | Chelmsford City | 63 | (8) |
2013 | → Stanway Rovers (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2015–2017 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | (0) |
2017 | → Lincoln City (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2017–2018 | Woking | 27 | (6) |
2018–2023 | Peterborough United | 202 | (18) |
2023– | Derby County | 21 | (2) |
International career‡ | |||
2017 | England C | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:44, 2 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:00, 13 January 2018 (UTC) |
Joseph Henry Ward (born 22 August 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Derby County.
After initially featuring for the Chelmsford City youth sides whilst on a BTEC scholarship scheme, Ward made his debut for the club during their 6–0 home victory over Farnborough in the 2012–13 campaign at the age of 16. [3] On 30 November 2013, Ward scored on his first start for Chelmsford City, once again against Farnborough, in a 3–1 win. [4] On 23 April 2014, Ward scored the goal to save Chelmsford City from relegation from the Conference South in a 1–0 win over Gosport Borough. [5] In his final campaign at Chelmsford, Ward netted eleven times, including six goals during their impressive FA Cup run, [6] in which they reached the fourth qualifying round before being knocked out by Barnet.
In 2013 he spent time on loan with Stanway Rovers, making six league appearances. [7]
Following trials with both West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion in summer 2015, [8] Brighton & Hove Albion signed Ward on a development contract on 3 June 2015. [9]
After failing to break through into the first-team squad, Ward was sent out on loan to National League side Lincoln City on a one-month basis in January 2017. [10] A day later, he made his debut during Lincoln's FA Trophy second-round victory over Gateshead, playing the entire 90 minutes in the 3–1 triumph. [11] In the following round, Ward netted twice during Lincoln's 3–1 away victory against Welling United. [12] Six days later, Ward's loan spell was extended for a further two months following some impressive form, especially in their FA Trophy campaign. [13]
On 21 June 2017, Ward signed for National League club Woking on a two-year deal following his release from Brighton & Hove Albion. [14]
On the opening day of the 2017–18 campaign, Ward netted in Woking's 2–1 home victory over Gateshead, sealing the winner in the 44th minute. [15] Ward went onto net five more times during their league campaign, including goals against Torquay United, Macclesfield Town, Maidstone United, AFC Fylde and Dover Athletic. [16] Following this impressive form, Ward received his first call-up to the England C squad, in which he featured for 45 minutes during their 4–0 International Challenge Trophy final defeat against Slovakia U23s. [17] During Woking's impressive FA Cup run, Ward netted the Cards' equaliser in their second round tie against League One side Peterborough United. [18]
On 10 January 2018, Ward joined League One side Peterborough United following his impressive performances against them, on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. [19] Three days later, Ward made his debut for Peterborough, as well as his Football League debut, in a 0–0 draw with Wigan Athletic, replacing Michael Doughty in the 68th minute. [20] Following an impressive 2020–21 season, Ward was named in the 2020–21 EFL League One Team of the Season at the league's annual awards ceremony. [21]
He was offered a new three-year contract at the end of the 2022–23 season. [22]
In June 2023 it was announced that he would sign for Derby County on 1 July 2023, on a three-year contract. [23] Ward made his Derby debut in a 2–1 defeat to Wigan Athletic on 5 August 2023. [24] Ward impressed with his performances in a difficult to the 2023–24 season for Derby, [25] however Ward picked up a heel injury in Derby's match against Oxford United on 15 August 2023 [26] which ruled him out of action for eight weeks. [27] [28] Upon his return to the team, Ward struggled to cement a place in the Derby team, being demoted to the under-21s to keep him match fit. [29] In December 2023, Ward conceded penalties in back-to back games to Wycombe Wanderers who scored the 96th minute equalising penalty [30] and Lincoln City. [31] On 2 March 2024, Ward returned to the Derby starting lineup against Port Vale, assisted two of Derby's three goals in the 3–0 win, as Derby returned to a wing-back formation which played to Ward's strengths, [32] this performance earned praise from former Derby player Malcolm Christie who was working as match analyst for BBC Radio Derby. [33] On 2 April 2024, Ward scored twice, his first goals for the club, in a 2–2 draw at Portsmouth. [34] During this match, Ward picked up a knee injury which later required surgery which ended his season with an expected recovery time of two months, he made 26 appearances during his first season at Derby. [35]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Chelmsford City | 2012–13 [36] | Conference South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
2013–14 [36] | Conference South | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 [lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 26 | 3 | ||
2014–15 [36] | Conference South | 37 | 5 | 5 | 6 | — | 2 [lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 44 | 11 | ||
Total | 63 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 69 | 14 | ||
Lincoln City (loan) | 2016–17 [36] | National League | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 [lower-alpha 3] | 3 | 8 | 3 | |
Woking | 2017–18 [36] | National League | 27 | 6 | 6 | 1 | — | 1 [lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 34 | 7 | |
Peterborough United | 2017–18 [37] | League One | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 18 | 0 |
2018–19 [38] | League One | 43 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 [lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 52 | 5 | |
2019–20 [39] | League One | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 [lower-alpha 4] | 2 | 36 | 5 | |
2020–21 [40] | League One | 37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 [lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 40 | 5 | |
2021–22 [41] | Championship | 38 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
2022–23 [42] | League One | 39 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 [lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 45 | 7 | |
Total | 202 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 232 | 23 | ||
Derby County | 2023–24 [43] | League One | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 [lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 26 | 2 |
Career total | 315 | 34 | 24 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 25 | 6 | 371 | 49 |
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