3/1 To Win
Striker Ashley Ward joined Derby County towards the back end of the 1995/96 season.
Ward, previously with Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra, joined from fellow First Division side Norwich City for a fee of around £1 Million in March 1996.
He scored his first goal for the club on the final day of the season in a 3-2 loss at West Bromwich Albion, a week after promotion was secured at the Baseball Ground against Crystal Palace.
In the top flight, he became a more established figure in the Derby team and started 25 out of the 38 league games in 1996/97, as well as coming off the bench five times, and scored nine times.
Ward notched in the wins over Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur during the season – while he was also on target in the first game at Pride Park against Wimbledon but the famous floodlight failure denied his goal going down in the history books.
He was the last Derby player to score at the Baseball Ground, in a 3-1 loss to Arsenal, and the abandonment of the Wimbledon encounter robbed him of the accolade of being the first goalscorer at the Rams’ new home.
He featured in the first three games of the 1997/98 season before being sold to Barnsley and later went on to play for Blackburn Rovers, Bradford City and Sheffield United before retiring.
Speaking dcfc.co.uk back in 2017, he said: “It was a bit disappointing that the goal never went down in the history books.
“I would have been known as the last Derby player to score at the Baseball Ground and the first to score at Pride Park; it was quite happy with the achievement but it wasn’t to be.
“We were in a good position that night and winning the game, but then the lights went off and that was that. I don’t think anyone ever found out why; there were a few different rumours.
“The Chairman at the time, Lionel Pickering, gave me two huge photographs which were framed of each goal. I’ve got the memory of what happened if not the record.”
Looking back on his time at Derby, Ward recalls working with an ‘up and coming coach’ named Steve McClaren.
Ward says he joined the Rams at an exciting time, with the club achieving promotion to the top flight and moving to a new home.
He said: “I enjoyed every minute of my time at Derby; it was a good time to be there. We had Steve McClaren as a young coach coming through at the time with lots of progressive ideas; we were very forward-thinking.
“Above him was Jim Smith, the old style manager making the decisions.
“The whole experience was great, moving to a new stadium and the club progressed quickly.”
Ward believes that the Baseball Ground was vital in helping Derby establish themselves back in the top flight of English football.
A notoriously difficult place to visit, especially for the top teams, Derby achieved some notably scalps at their former home.
Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa went home pointless while Manchester United were held to an early-season draw.
“The Baseball Ground was good for us making the step up, looking back, and then we had the chance to move to the new stadium,” Ward recalled.
“We had a year to get to grips with the Premiership because it was a real increase in quality. The Baseball Ground was a really difficult place to go to; the pitch wasn’t as good as they are now.
“The atmosphere was fantastic and it was an old-school stadium. It was a great home venue for the first year.”
Reflecting on his favourite moment in a black and white shirt, scoring in Derby’s famous 3-2 win at Manchester United in April 1997 stands out from the crowd,
“Scoring at Old Trafford was a very memorable occasion; obviously Paulo Wanchope burst onto the scene but it was a brilliant team performance,” he said.
“I was brought up as a Manchester City fan and lived in Manchester, so that one was pretty good.”
Briefly looking back on his time at Norwich, he joined the Canaries after a prolific spell at Crewe Alexandra.
Expecting to gradually drip-fed into making the step up – he was thrown in at the deep end and scored twice in a 3-0 home win over Chelsea in late 1994.
He said: “I had moved out of the lower leagues to go to Norwich and, as much as you have confidence in your own ability, it was a massive step up.
“I wondered if I would be brought along slowly, but I was straight in the team against Chelsea and scored twice.
“Norwich was a great club and I had a fantastic time there scoring a few goals.”
Ward’s life is now away from football – and he’s keeping himself extremely busy.
He explained: “Myself and my wife have lots going on.
“It wasn’t a deliberate decision not to be involved in football but we’re keeping ourselves busy.
“During my career I started a property development company which we are still running now too. When I retired from football I was in the office the next day, I never had a day off!””
