NEEDHAM MARKET | A HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR NEAL

It was a special night in more ways than one for Joe Neal on Wednesday

It was a good night’s work for Joe Neal on Wednesday as he celebrated his birthday in style!

A goal and Man of the Match display to help Needham Market chalk up a 4-2 victory over local rivals, Bury Town, in front of a packed house, a result sees his side continue their climb up the Pitching In Southern League Premier Central table.

“It was a great win for us,” Neal told us. “We started the game well to get ourselves into a three-goal lead within the opening half-an-hour, which was thoroughly deserved.

“The performance from the whole team was extremely solid. We did what we needed to do and took the chances that came out way, although in the end we maybe could have won by a bigger margin.

“To come away with a goal and the Man of the Match award was a nice way to celebrate my birthday, not a bad night at all!”

Neal admits that it has been something of a mixed start to the season as the club returned to this level following relegation out of The National League North at the end of last term.

“We feel that we should have more points to our name than we currently have,” he admitted. “Our performances overall have actually been pretty good, but we’ve not had the results to go with them.

“Hopefully our last two results can be a turning point for us and we can really start to kick on now.

“The standard of the league is good, as it always is! There are some big clubs with some good squads and there are quite a few teams who will be up there challenging, so it makes for an interesting competition, that’s for sure.

“As a team I think we know we want to push for that top end of the table. The minimum for us would be play-offs, but I don’t see why we can’t be going for the top of the table – I can’t see one team running away with it this year, it’s very open.

“With the squad we’ve got, we are more than capable. Personally, I want to hit 15/20 goals at least, this is always my target and I am determined to help the club get to where it wants to be.”

A mouth-watering trip to managerless Kettering Town awaits on Saturday in what is sure to be an intriguing encounter.

IMAGE: Needham Market FC

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