Grateful Ward grasps his chance

IT may not be too far from Dalymount to Lansdowne Road.

But it must take quite a leap to go from a tension-filled battle at the bottom end of the Premier League to a tepid bout in front of a near-empty Lansdowne Road.

But mercifully for Stephen Ward, the Irish debutant didn’t have too much time to think about any of it. The former Bohemians man, whose first international goal opened the scoring against Northern Ireland and also capped a fine first cap after Sunday’s survival heroics for Wolves, only found out he was starting yesterday afternoon.

“I was delighted to get the call. I was a bit bombed [after Sunday] but excited more than anything. I couldn’t believe there was a game so quick after Sunday. So it was nice to play 90 minutes and get a win.

“I came in early Monday morning. We just relaxed after the game with family and friends. Obviously Sunday was crazy and it was a bit draining mentally and physically.”

Ward was still sharp enough to react quickest to Alan Blayney’s spill in the box after 24 minutes.

“I was just in the right place at the right time. There to tap it in. They actually started alright. But once we scored it was convincing.”

Ward’s place in the starting line-up, however, only came after the confusion about Marc Wilson’s absence. The Stoke defender was initially named at left-back. Instead, he remained away along with James McCarthy.

Ward’s Wolves teammate Stephen Hunt admitted he was as confused at the situation as everyone else.

“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know. We’re a little bit low on numbers until everyone gets in. We’ll just wait and see who comes in over the next few days and who doesn’t. We’ll have more of an idea of what the squad looks like towards the Scotland and Macedonia games. I’ll just keep me head down.”

On Sunday, Hunt looked up long enough to score the goal that salvaged Wolves’ season. The intensity of that was one of the reasons he didn’t start last night.

“I didn’t even get time to enjoy the goal. ! I knew it kept us in the league but I was so wrapped up in all the emotion I just ran back and then got rugby-tackled,’’ he said.

“It was probably good I didn’t start a couple of days after the game. It would have been tough. But coming on 20 minutes from the end was good to get rid of the cobwebs. It helps refocus you straight away. You ain’t got much time. But it’s nice to get a sweat on and get a run out.”

Robbie Keane might have scored a goal even more historic than Hunt’s on Sunday, of course. Had he stayed on the pitch long enough to add to his first-half chip and second-half penalty, the Irish captain would have equalled Bobby Charlton’s English record of 49 goals. He was visibly disgruntled when hauled off halfway through the second period.

“The manager explained it was about keeping me fit for the games ahead,’’ Keane said. “It would have been great to get Charlton’s record and I’ve spoken before about getting the half-century. But hopefully that means I’ll save a few for Skopje.”

From a mundane Carling Nations Cup game to a World Cup qualifier in Skopje: that’s an even bigger leap than Ward’s.