Inigo Calderon has praised Jed Ward for his first performance back in a Bristol Rovers shirt after the academy graduate was recalled from his loan spell at Forest Green Rovers on deadline day the week prior.
A dramatic final day of the transfer window saw Rovers’ number one at the time and star player Josh Griffiths recalled by his parent club West Brom after the Baggies had sanctioned the sale of their first choice Alex Palmer to Ipswich Town.
In response, the Gas recalled Ward from Forest Green while also bringing in Myles Roberts on loan from Watford for extra support alongside Matt Hall.
There had been some uncertainty around who would start Tuesday night’s clash at home to Stockport County but it was a positive return to BS7 for the 21-year-old who made some decent saves while demonstrating excellent reading of the game as Rovers earned a 1-1 draw.
The Gas had to wait nine days for the Stockport game following their 3-1 win over Peterborough United, the day before deadline day, after which Calderon confessed that he was concerned about the transfer window still being open because it meant that he could still lose players.
“When I said that, I was not expecting that, so I was not that clever,” the Rovers head coach joked to Bristol Live. “But that’s the market, that something bad can happen and obviously it was something bad because I think Josh was performing at a top, top level.
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“I don’t think we have to compare these two. I think they’re different. I think Josh probably has better things than Jed but Jed probably has better things than Josh so that’s good.
“I’m really, really happy with his game today. I think, especially for me, more than being good or bad, is how you are with the group and the connection that you have with your teammates. You could see that it was like he had been with us the whole year. That’s really important.”
Ward is no stranger to the environment at Rovers having come through the club’s academy while also ending last season as their first choice, making 18 League One appearances.
However, the decision was made to send the 21-year-old out on loan to Forest Green over the summer with Griffiths coming in for the campaign.
The shot stopper earned excellent reviews from the Gloucestershire outfit and looks set for a spell back in between the sticks as the Gas’ number one once again.