Joe Neal (born 22 October 2000) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a forward for AFC Sudbury.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joe Loram John Neal[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 22 October 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Bury St Edmunds, England[2] | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AFC Sudbury | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2019 | Cambridge United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Cambridge United | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Royston Town (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2019 | → Needham Market (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2020 | → St Neots Town (loan) | 4 | (2) |
| 2020 | → Biggleswade Town (loan) | 8 | (5) |
| 2021–2022 | Biggleswade Town | 26 | (11) |
| 2022–2023 | St Albans City | 52 | (2) |
| 2023– | AFC Sudbury | 42 | (16) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 04:12, 15 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
Playing career
editCambridge United
editNeal joined the Cambridge United Academy in 2008 and signed his first two-and-a-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
editNeal signed permanently for Biggleswade Town on 2 August 2021.[12]
St Albans City
editNeal signed permanently for St Albans City on 15 February 2022.[13]
AFC Sudbury
editNeal signed permanently for AFC Sudbury on 1 July 2023.[14]
Style of play
editNeal is a free-kick specialist.[3]
Statistics
edit- As of match played 27 April 2024
| 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 |
| Total | 47 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 62 | 15 | ||
| Biggleswade Town | 2021–22[5] | Southern League Premier Division Central | 26 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3[b] | 3 | 31 | 15 |
| St Albans City | 2021–22[5] | National League South | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| St Albans City | 2022–23[5] | National League South | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| A.F.C. Sudbury | 2023–24[5] | Southern League Premier Division Central | 34 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 15 |
| A.F.C. Sudbury | 2024–25[5] | Southern League Premier Division Central | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 159 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 183 | 47 | ||
- ^ 2 appearances and 1 goal in the FA Trophy and 2 appearances and 1 goal in the Suffolk Senior Cup.
- ^ a b Appearance/s in the FA Trophy.
References
edit- ^ "Club list of registered players as at 18th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. 18 May 2019. p. 72. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Soccerway". Soccerway. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "- Crows welcome Joe Neal". Royston Town Football Club. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Joe Neal Profile | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Claydon, Russell. "SOUTHERN LEAGUE: Cambridge United teenage striker joins Needham". Suffolk News. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Georgeson, Andrew (23 January 2020). "St Neots boss Corr believes United loanees have Football League potential". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ "Match Details - Biggleswade Town 7-4 Leiston - PISPC - 29th September 2020 | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Cambridge United vs Peterborough United on 10 Nov 20 - Match Centre - Cambridge United". www.cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ "2021 Retained & Released List". Cambridge United F.C. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Nunn Busy Building New-Look Biggleswade Squad". Southern-Football-League.co.uk. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "SAINTS SIGN STRIKER NEAL". stalbanscityfc.com. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ "AFC Sudbury bring in former Cambridge United forward Joe Neal from St Albans City". suffolknews.co.uk. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Joe Neal in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Games played by Joe Neal in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Games played by Joe Neal in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
