Joe Neal (footballer)
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| 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 | Needham Market | ||
| 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) |
| 2023–2025 | AFC Sudbury | 76 | (24) |
| 2025– | Needham Market | 0 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:40, 1 June 2025 (UTC) | |||
Joe Neal (born 22 October 2000) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a forward for Needham Market.
Cambridge United
Neal 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
Neal signed permanently for Biggleswade Town on 2 August 2021.[12]
St Albans City
Neal signed permanently for St Albans City on 15 February 2022.[13]
AFC Sudbury
Neal signed permanently for AFC Sudbury on 1 July 2023.[14]
Style of play
Neal is a free-kick specialist.[3]
