James Ward-Prowse was delighted to sign off from a season full of ups and downs by notching his first goal of 2024/25 in Sunday’s final-day win at Ipswich Town.
After scoring seven times in 52 appearances in all competitions during his debut campaign in Claret and Blue, in 2023/24, the 30-year-old signed a deadline-day loan deal with Nottingham Forest last summer, where he featured ten times before returning to east London in early February.
Though he endured a tricky spell with the Reds, Ward-Prowse has been almost ever present under boss Graham Potter in the second half of this season, and while results have been mixed he has gradually built up his confidence and form.
Our No8 was once again in the starting XI as the Irons dispatched Ipswich 3-1 with a positive display, and he was full of smiles after opening the scoring with a composed close-range finish following Jarrod Bowen’s lay-off.
“It's nice to get the goal,” Ward-Prowse said. “It's been a bit of an up and down season, with a lot of challenges in many ways.
“So, to finish with a goal is really nice. It was important today that we put in the right performance, and helped the guys leaving go away happy, as well as the supporters who have followed us brilliantly all season.
“We wanted to go away with something, and now I think we can go away and enjoy the summer, before coming back ready for next year.”
Three of the Hammers’ departing quartet - Łukasz Fabiański, Vladimír Coufal and Aaron Cresswell - featured for the Club for the final time at Portman Road, on an emotional day that ultimately delivered a fitting result.
Following Ward-Prowse’s opener, just shy of half-time, Nathan Broadhead equalised for the Tractor Boys soon after the interval, before eye-catching strikes from skipper Bowen and Mohammed Kudus earned the visitors the full share of the spoils.
Ward-Prowse added: “We knew that obviously it was the last game of the season, and they were going to come out fast, and we started well.
“We ran a bit of a rocky patch halfway through the first half, but I think we knew we wanted to be progressive in our plays, we wanted to get after them and be assertive, and we did that well.
“Sometimes we can win ugly, but today I think we were in control. They had their chances and got back in the game, but we had to do a professional job.
“Overall, I think we performed well, and we got the result we wanted. Like I said, now it’s about taking this into the summer, coming back on a positive and then going again.”
