- Danny Ward helped Leicester City progress from the Carabao Cup Third Round
- The goalkeeper saved three penalties in the 3-0 shootout victory at Walsall
- He was pleased to play his part as Leicester progressed into the next round
Having been reasonably busy during the 90 minutes, called into action on a couple of occasions in the first half, the Welshman’s three shootout saves ultimately saw Leicester progress, as Ricardo Pereira, Conor Coady and Oliver Skipp all converted for the Foxes.
“Normally it's only one that's alright to get us through, but to save three is obviously special,” the Wales international said following full-time at Poundland Bescot Stadium. “We did our homework thoroughly, myself and the rest of the goalkeeping department and, thankfully, that homework seemed to pay off tonight, which is nice to see.
“We spent, after training, a good half an hour, 45 minutes, together, all the goalkeepers and Danny [Alcock], the goalie coach, a couple of analysis boys, and we sat there and watched them because we've got to be ready for all eventualities. And we do that for every game.”
The Sky Bet League 2 outfit made it a difficult night for the Foxes, who will now face Manchester United away in the last-16 of the competition, heading to Old Trafford on week commencing 28 October.
“To be honest, it was a tough game,” the ‘keeper admitted. “That's what we expected. We knew coming here, the way they play and put you under pressure with a direct play, that there's always a chance that it could end up going to penalties here, especially with it being 90 minutes and then straight to penalties.
“A lot of direct play, get the ball wide and crosses and they are really effective with it. We had a meeting about them yesterday, and it's hard to combat sometimes. The Manager uses a great phrase where when the ball's in the air, it doesn't matter whatever league you're in, whatever level you're at, the ball in the air is a leveller for anyone.
“We had to deal with that, and thankfully, we've come on the right side of it tonight. That's the aim for every competition we're in. We always want to win games of football regardless of whether it's the league or any cup competition. And we'll take lessons from tonight and I'm sure we'll take that into the next round and we'll go again and see what we can do.”
A second outing in the Carabao Cup for Ward, who is now on 49 club appearances, he enjoyed getting more minutes, while also assisting Mads Hermansen and the rest of the goalkeepers union.
“It's been a while,” the 31-year-old added. “I haven't played so much in the last few years, so it's always special to hear them (the fans) shouting you. The big thing that nobody sees is it's not just myself and Dan, it's the young boys, it's everyone in the goalkeeping department.
“We know that Mads [Hermansen] plays, and he's been fantastic for this Football Club since he's come in last summer, and our job is to back him up and we do that by making sure that we're all ready.
“The better we are in training, the better it is for Mads as well, and the better that he can perform, and it's all healthy competition. We're in a good place in the goalkeeping department at the moment.”