James Ward-Prowse is hoping to complete a personal hat-trick of spectacular goals at Molineux when West Ham United visit Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday evening.
The No8 has hit the net twice previously at Wolves with trademark set-piece strikes – one for West Ham and one for previous club Southampton.
The midfielder scored the winner direct from a corner in last season’s meeting at Molineux, and credited Storm Kathleen with an assist for his spectacular goal.
“It was a difficult game overall,” he recalled. “I think the first half we weren't anywhere near the levels that we could produce and then second half I think we tweaked the formation if I remember correctly, we made a few changes and it was good to obviously score directly from a corner. I remember it being a bit of a blustery day, there was some sort of storm around the weekend and maybe it played a part, but it was certainly part of the tactic to aim for the goal anyway and thankfully it came off.”
Prior to that, Ward-Prowse curled in an unstoppable direct free-kick for Southampton back in January 2022, and his next will see the 30-year-old tie David Beckham for the Premier League record of 18.
“I did score a good one there a few years back,” Ward-Prowse smiled, when reminded of his strike past José Sá. “It's been a while since I've had one of them, so I’ll hopefully try and copy that one!”
Wolves kick-off Tuesday’s game one place – but nine points – above the relegation zone, and Ward-Prowse knows from his days battling the drop with Southampton that the hosts will be giving everything to ensure their own survival.
“It's tough, I've been in that position myself and I think when you play against teams above you, especially at home, you see it as a good opportunity and I think you have to put yourself in their position and obviously they're fighting for their lives and trying to secure their Premier League status, so you have to match their endeavour and match that kind of work-rate before the football does the talking,” he observed.
“We’ve got to be focused on us and what we can do. I think we all know it's not been the season that we'd have hoped for, but I still think we've got a good opportunity to finish the season as strong as we can and give ourselves a bit of momentum going into the summer, looking forward to next season. I think to finish well will give us a benefit when we come back to pre-season, obviously having been on a good run.”
Ward-Prowse spent the first half of the season on loan at Nottingham Forest, where he did not get the playing time he would have liked. That said, he still managed to register an assist in Forest’s Premier League win at Wolves in January.
Now back at West Ham and starting regularly, the England international is eager to put that frustrating period behind him and focus on a positive and productive future.
“I'm just delighted to be back, I think the first few months of the season were a bit of a rollercoaster kind of ride really, with a bit of instability for myself, but I think that's going to happen in your career,” he reflected. “It's the first time it's happened in a long, long time in my career, so it was a good challenge, one that I don't sort of regret happening in a way, as I think it kind of kick-started me again and really lit that fire in me to come back and to prove a point.
“It’d be nice to get another goal! I think my main goal was to obviously get back playing regularly and doing well and the elusive [record-tying] free-kick goal still looms, which is something which I'm hoping will come, but I just want to enjoy my football again.
“Like I said, if you have a period of not enjoying it and being out of it, you want to just get that feeling back straight away.”
