Neil Teggart Player Profile

Biography

The former Northern Ireland Under-21 international who finished top goalscorer during his only season at the club in the 2008/09 campaign.

Born in Downpatrick, Teggart was snapped up by English side Sunderland in July 2003 and the natural goalscorer regularly found the back of the net for the Black Cats' Reserve side, but failed to break into manager Mick McCarthy's first team at the Stadium of Light during a two year stint in the North East.

Loan spells at fourth tier Darlington (in February 2004) and then the following season at Scunthorpe United (January 2005) in the same division allowed the forward to gain valuable playing time in the football league and was rewarded with two caps for the Northern Ireland Under-21 side against Scotland and Switzerland, both as a substitute.

In April 2005 - the offer to join former Liverpool favourite Steve McMahon down under in the newly formed Australian 'A-League' was too good to turn down. Neil signed for Perth Glory in their inaugural A-League season but the 20-year-old had his contract mutually terminated after suffering from homesickness in August 2005, with the season barely begun - he was replaced on the Perth Glory roster by ex-England international Brian Deane.

Teggart returned to the professional game in November 2006 after an extended break due to injury and illness to sign for Livingston in the Scottish First Division, where he scored 3 goals in 19 appearances during the 2006/07 campaign. A move to Hamilton Academical in June 2007 lasted only two competitive games before returning home in October, to sign for local club Kilmore Rec. In signing for the County Down to keep himself ticking over until January, he unwittingly restricted any potential move to an Irish League club under UEFA's rule of playing for three clubs in the one season.

Freed to return to senior football come the following summer, Ballymena United fought off a number of suitors to make Teggart one of Roy Walker's first signings as new Ballymena United manager in June 2008. The striker's form was impressive even if the team struggled badly at the wrong end of the table in the first half of the 2008/09 season. Two goals on his Ballymena United debut against Ballyclare Comrades (in the County Antrim Shield) marked a superb run of 10 goals before mid-November for a team bottom of the table. However, Teggart battled through injury and a dip in form for the remainder of the season - as Walker's men pulled clear of danger but Teggart could only add a further two goals to his season tally, albeit it was enough to finish as the club's top goalscorer with an impressive 12 goals in 26 appearances.

Speculation had been rife that Teggart would be leaving the club through the second half of the season and in May 2009 he was unveiled by Ronnie McFall as a Portadown player signing a three-year contract, with the Ports having bounced back from their enforced relegation to win the Championship at the first attempt. The 25-year-old once against struggled for form and failed to make an impact at Shamrock Park during the 2009/2010 season, after a lengthly run without a goal at the start of the season - patience ran thin with McFall who benched the striker who eventually failed to even make the bench for the Irish Cup final defeat to Linfield in May 2010. During the same season Teggart was given a two year suspended prison sentence for assault in February 2010, following an altercation in Crossgar.

His Portadown contract was eventually terminated at the end of the season with two years remaining. In his final attempt to compete in the Premiership, he signed for Newry City in October 2010.

International Honours
Northern Ireland Under-21

Last updated: 15 June 2019

Last updated: 15 June 2019