Joe Neal (footballer)

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Joe Neal
Personal information
Full name Joe Loram John Neal[1]
Date of birth (2000-10-22) 22 October 2000 (age 23)
Place of birth Bury St Edmunds, England[2]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+12 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Biggleswade Town
Youth career
2008–2019 Cambridge United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Cambridge United 0 (0)
2019Royston Town (loan) 16 (1)
2019Needham Market (loan) 19 (1)
2020St Neots Town (loan) 4 (2)
2020Biggleswade Town (loan) 8 (5)
2021–2022 Biggleswade Town 26 (11)
2022–2023 St Albans City 52 (2)
2023– AFC Sudbury 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:00, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

Joe Loram John Neal (born 22 October 2000) is an English footballer who plays for Southern League Premier Division Central side AFC Sudbury, where he plays as a forward.

Playing career[edit]

Cambridge United[edit]

Neal joined the Cambridge United Academy in 2008 and signed his first two-and-half-year professional contract in February 2019.[3] He was handed the contract after impressing on loan at Southern League Premier Division Central side Royston Town the previous month.[4] He made his debut in first-team football on 19 January, in a 1–0 defeat at Kettering Town and scored a brace on his home debut three days later in a 4–4 draw with Lowestoft Town.[5] In total he scored three goals in 18 games for Steve Castle's "Crows".[5]

He began the 2019–20 season on loan at Needham Market, having scored a brace for the club in a pre-season friendly.[6] He went on to score five goals in 29 appearances for Richard Wilkins's "Marketmen".[5] He played four games on loan at St Neots Town in January 2020; "Saints" manager Barry Corr said that "I expect him to score goals".[7]

He was loaned out to Biggleswade Town and scored a hat-trick in a 7–4 win over Leiston on 29 September 2020.[8] He was recalled to Cambridge after the 2020–21 season was cancelled at Southern League level due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England,[9] having scored five goals in ten games for Chris Nunn's "Waders".[5] He made his first-team debut for Cambridge on 10 November 2020, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute for Harvey Knibbs in a 1–1 draw with Peterborough United in an EFL Trophy game at the Abbey Stadium; Cambridge went on to lose the penalty shoot-out 3–1.[10]

On 17 May 2021, Cambridge United announced they would not be offering Neal a new contract.[11]

Biggleswade Town[edit]

Neal signed permanently for Biggleswade Town on 2 August 2021.[12]

St Albans City[edit]

Neal signed permanently for St Albans City on 15 February 2022.[13]

AFC Sudbury[edit]

Neal signed permanently for AFC Sudbury on 1 July 2023.[14]

Style of play[edit]

Neal is a free-kick specialist.[3]

Statistics[edit]

As of match played 10 November 2020
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cambridge United 2018–19[15] EFL League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019–20[16] EFL League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020–21[17] EFL League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Royston Town (loan) 2018–19[5] Southern League Premier Division Central 16 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 18 3
Needham Market (loan) 2019–20[5] Southern League Premier Division Central 19 1 3 1 4 1 3[a] 2 29 5
St Neots Town (loan) 2019–20[5] Southern League Division One Central 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2
Biggleswade Town (loan) 2020–21[5] Southern League Premier Division Central 8 5 1 0 0 0 1[b] 0 10 5
Career total 47 9 4 1 6 3 5 2 62 15
  1. ^ 2 appearances and 1 goal in the FA Trophy and 2 appearances and 1 goal in the Suffolk Senior Cup.
  2. ^ Appearance/s in the FA Trophy.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players as at 18th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. 18 May 2019. p. 72. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Soccerway". Soccerway. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Joe Neal Signs His First Professional Deal With The U's". www.cambridge-united.co.uk. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. ^ "- Crows welcome Joe Neal". Royston Town Football Club. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Joe Neal Profile | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  6. ^ Claydon, Russell. "SOUTHERN LEAGUE: Cambridge United teenage striker joins Needham". Suffolk News. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  7. ^ Georgeson, Andrew (23 January 2020). "St Neots boss Corr believes United loanees have Football League potential". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Match Details - Biggleswade Town 7-4 Leiston - PISPC - 29th September 2020 | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  9. ^ Page, Stephen (30 November 2020). "Cambridge United youth prospects Joe Neal and Ben Worman expected to go back out on loan". InYourArea.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Cambridge United vs Peterborough United on 10 Nov 20 - Match Centre - Cambridge United". www.cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  11. ^ "2021 Retained & Released List". Cambridge United F.C. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Nunn Busy Building New-Look Biggleswade Squad". Southern-Football-League.co.uk. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  13. ^ "SAINTS SIGN STRIKER NEAL". stalbanscityfc.com. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  14. ^ "AFC Sudbury bring in former Cambridge United forward Joe Neal from St Albans City". suffolknews.co.uk. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Games played by Joe Neal in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Games played by Joe Neal in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Games played by Joe Neal in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.

External links[edit]