Blackpool's Grant Ward on getting goals from midfield, bouncing back in the FA Cup and looking forward to upcoming league clash against Portsmouth

The 25-year-old scored with a rocket from the edge of the box during Blackpool’s 4-0 FA Cup second round win against Harrogate Town on Saturday.

The goal, Pool’s second of the game, was Ward’s second this season from 19 appearances.

“I was happy with it,” Ward told The Gazette.

“I had one come to me on the edge of the box just before that but I didn’t take as good a touch and it went under my feet.

“I was just hoping another one came to me and thankfully I managed to get a nice touch and get a good strike on it as well.

“As a midfielder it’s something the manager wants. If you can get goals from midfield you’ll normally get in the side, so hopefully I can get a few more for the team.”

The victory was the perfect way for Blackpool to bounce back from their disappointment against Doncaster Rovers in their previous outing.

“We were all pleased with the performance and the result and on a personal level, to get a goal was great,” Ward added.

“When you see the fixture you know everyone is going to be looking for an upset, but the boys were focused and put in a professional performance.

“Whatever the competition, if you lose a match you want a reaction. The gaffer put out a strong team and we wanted to go out there and get a win.

“The defeat at Doncaster was a tough one to take. I was on the bench watching the game to start with but the first-half performance was outstanding and you would have thought we’d have gone on to win the game.

“But they changed a few things and came out strong in the second-half, but we were unlucky towards the end.

“It’s motivation for us to ensure it never happens again. As a footballer and you’re 2-0 up, you can’t go on to lose the game.”

Neil Critchley’s side now turn their focus to Tuesday night’s league encounter against Portsmouth, who sit in fifth place in the League One table.

A big club at this level, Pompey are also the league’s top scorers and have yet to be beaten away from home this season.

“They are a massive club with some good players, but the stature of a club is not something you particularly look at,” Ward said.

“You look at their players and where you think you can hurt them in terms of exposing their weaknesses and go from there.

“Come the end of the season these are the games that could be a six-pointer, they could be the difference between making the play-offs and not.

“We have to perform well against these teams and hopefully get some points.

“You just take every game as they come, the next one is always the most important.

“Coming up against a top side you always want to show that you’re on par with them or better, so you always want to put in a good performance and get a result.

“We’re more than good enough to do so.”

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