Milton Keynes victory a reward for all of Peterborough's recent hard work and good play

Joe Ward scored Peterborough United's opening goal against Milton Keynes. Photo: Joe Dent.

Ward scored the opener late in the first half to help Posh on their way to a 2-0 win and a first league win since October 29 when they defeated local rivals Cambridge.

Following that match, Posh had been on a winless run of five games, including four straight defeats before Monday’s draw against Charlton Athletic.

Ward’s himself has returned to his favoured wingback role in Posh’s last three outings and his performance drew praise from his manager. After the match, Grant McCann insisted that with Ward, in the form he is, there is no better player in League One in his position.

Joe Ward applauds the Posh fans after Thursday's victory. Photo: Joe Dent.

Grant McCann hails his young players as Peterborough United return to winning wa...

Ward said: “It was a good win that we definitely needed. We have been working hard over the last few weeks but results haven’t been going our way.

“We started well and it was a really good game. We played really well and getting the goals tops all our hard work off and all of the good play we’ve been doing.

“I’ve scored a few goals like that over the last few months. Kwame has just put it in the space for me and I managed to get a good connection to get it into the bottom corner. It was just about timing my run and waiting for the pass.”

MK players take issue with referee David Rock's decision to award Posh a penalty in the second half. Photo: Joe Dent.

Ward has now started four straight matches after missing the final two matches in October followed by the whole of November with a knee problem picked up early in the 2-1 win at Oxford.

The problem did not show up on initial scans and took several weeks to diagnose.

The 27-year-old looks to be in a rhythm now though and scored his first goal since the 3-0 home win against Port Vale on September 29 to go along with the assist for Jonson Clarke-Harris’ equaliser at Charlton last time out.

He added: “It was frustrating being injured. Thankfully I’m over it now and felt good out there. As soon as I get back, I wanted to be straight back in the mix with goals and assists so it’s been good.

“Home games are so important to us this season. We haven’t been the best away from home so we need to win our home games. We got a win here so hopefully we can improve, keep winning and pick up another win on Sunday against Wycombe.”