Wales goalkeeper Ward marked his long-awaited return in perfect fashion as Wrexham boosted their Championship play-off hopes with a commanding 2-0 win over Stoke City.
The keeper, making his first start since August, kept a clean sheet as Wrexham delivered a controlled and confident performance at the Stok Cae Ras, with goals from George Thomason and Josh Windass sealing a vital three points.
For Ward, it was a moment that capped a difficult spell on the sidelines, when, following injury, he has had to play back-up to number one choice, Arthur Okonkwo.
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“It's been tough being out, but it's been made slightly easier, with the fact that we've done really well this season,” Ward told Wrexham’s website.
“We've had a good year, but on a personal level, it's so good to be back - clean sheet and a win, so I couldn't ask for much more, really.
“It was my elbow again. It wasn't a nice injury. So, to get back to the level that I had been at, it takes a bit of time.
“You lose that bit of sharpness on the pitch, and especially for us goalkeepers, it's massive.
“The last little bit for me was probably that match geography, that match situation, having to make decisions really quickly; and today ended up being a perfect day for that.
“It was a good feeling, really glad to get it under the belt. Ultimately, it's another win, and of course, that’s where we want to get to.”
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Ward’s return provided a solid foundation for a Wrexham side that had suffered back-to-back defeats coming into the fixture, but responded with one of their most assured displays of the campaign - limiting Stoke to no shots on target.
“I think the boys in front made it really easy today. It was a performance we've been used to all year, added Ward.
“Maybe we've come away from those a little bit in the last week or so, but the majority of the season, that's what we've been about.
“Being tough to beat, doing our jobs, and I thought to a man, we looked really solid. It was a professional performance in the end.”
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The result, combined with Hull City being held by Birmingham City, leaves Wrexham just two points outside the top six, firmly back in the play-off hunt.
Manager Phil Parkinson reiterated his belief that the race will go down to the final stretch.
"The aim has been to take this to the wire," Parkinson said.
"That's what we spoke to the lads about, let's not hand the play-off place to the other teams.
"It's about making sure we got our performance levels where they need to be to win games of football at this level.
"I felt you saw today, a lot of players came back to the levels they can play at and we'll be ready for Tuesday night to do the same."
Ward revealed his recall came after a simple but decisive conversation with his manager on the eve of the match.
“Yesterday, the manager just pulled me to the side and said, are you ready to play? I said, well, you're not going to turn that down, are you? It's been a long time!
“That's what we're here to do, regardless of whether you're a goalkeeper or a striker, you need to be ready to play. So, I got the nod, and thankfully I’ve come in and we've kept a clean sheet and got the win.
“So, hopefully we can continue that now for the rest of the season.”
Parkinson also acknowledged the significance of results elsewhere, which helped close the gap to the play-off places.
"I honestly didn't know what the score was until I was coming off down the tunnel and someone said the game was still going but it was 1-1," he said.
"So of course that is a bonus and we're not going to deny that.
"Birmingham, they're a good side as we saw last week, they're probably disappointed they're not in the (play-off) mix.
"But they've done us a favour and now we go to Oxford and let's just see if we can keep this going right to the end."
With games remaining against Oxford United, Coventry City and Middlesbrough, Wrexham’s push for the top six is finely poised.
