Hunt: Noel

2013-2015 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Striker

Born: Waterford, Republic of Ireland: 26-12-1982

Debut: Brighton & Hove Albion: 03-08-2013

5'10" 11st 3lb (2013)

Hunt began playing football in his home town of Waterford. He was signed by Shamrock Rovers at the age of eighteen and soon made his debut on 29th October 2001, but did not come on until the final minute as a substitute for Tony Grant in a 3-2 win over Shelbourne in the League Cup at Tolka Park. His appearances were restricted to the League Cup in his first season and he scored his first goal when he scored in the thirty-seventh minute of the 6-1 home win over Longford Town on 23rd January 2002 in which he played a full game. They proved to be the only games he played in the 2001-2002 season. He was loaned to Waterford United and he scored five goals in nine appearances before returning to Shamrock Rovers. Then in the 2002-2003 season he scored eleven goals in twenty-five League appearances, two goals in five FAI Cup games and no goals in two European Cup ties, as Rovers came third in the League and reach the FAI Cup Final and Hunt was Shamrock Rovers "Player of the Year". It was enough for Dunfermline Athletic to pay £100,000, subject to appearances, to take him to East End Park on 27th January 2003. While he was hampered to some extent by knee injuries during his time at Dunfermline he still managed to win the club's "Young Player of the Year" award. He missed the final three games of the season and underwent surgery in the hope of being ready for the following season. He was unable to keep up his scoring rate for the Pars, scoring eight League goals in forty-two starts and thirty-eight games from the bench, with two more in two starts and eight games from the bench in the Scottish Cup and one in two starts and three from the bench in the Scottish League Cup and none in one other game. He left East End Park for Tannadice and Dundee United on 20th June 2006 for £50,000. He had already played for the Republic of Ireland at Under-Twenty-One level, making his debut as a fifty-fifth minute substitute for John Thompson in a 0-2 defeat by Scotland at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, on 11th February 2003. He scored his first international goal in Ireland's 3-0 win over Azerbaijan Under-Twenty-Ones in Tbilisi on 11th May 2006. He played four times at Under-Twenty-One Level. He made his Dundee United debut on 29th July 2006 in a 1-2 home defeat by Falkirk and netted his first goal for them on 5th August 2006 in a 2-2 draw at Ibrox against Rangers. He had two good seasons with Dundee United, gaining a runners-up medal in the League Cup in March 2008. The club could not resist selling him to Reading for £600,000 on 23rd July 2008 after he had scored twenty-three League goals in fifty-nine starts and five games from the bench, no goals in three starts and one game as a substitute in the Scottish Cup and five goals in seven starts in the Scottish League Cup. While at Dundee United he played for the Republic of Ireland "B" team in a 1-1 draw with Scotland "B" at the Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie on 20th November 2007. Hunt joined his new team on their pre-season tour of Sweden and scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 win over Halmstads BK on 29th July 2008. He went straight into the Reading first team, making his League debut on 12th August 2008 in a League Cup First Round tie at Dagenham & Redbridge, scoring the decider in a 2-1 away win. He made his League debut as an eighty-ninth minute substitute on 16th August 2008 in a 2-0 home win over Plymouth Argyle. On 20th August 2008 he made his debut for the Republic of Ireland at full International level when he came on as a seventieth minute substitute for Aiden McGeady of Celtic in a 1-1 draw with Norway in Oslo. He was again a seventy-third minute substitute in a 2-4 defeat by Charlton Athletic on 23rd August 2008 at the Valley. He was also on target in the Second Round of the League Cup, scoring the first goal in a 5-1 home victory over Luton Town on 26th August 2008. Hunt made his run-on debut with Reading in a 6-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday and he scored twice, in the fiftieth and sixty-fourth minutes before being substituted after seventy-seven minutes. In that game he had teamed up with his brother Stephen, who was one of the Reading first choice strikers and who also represented Ireland and later played with Wolverhampton Wanderers. He started to play more regularly for the Reading first eleven but was generally second choice to his brother. He gained his second Republic of Ireland cap as a sixty-first minute substitute for fellow Reading striker Kevin Doyle, one minute after brother Stephen, had replaced Andy Keogh in a 2-3 defeat by Poland on 19th November 2008 at Croke Park. His third game for Ireland came on 1st April 2009 in the World Cup Qualifiers in a 1-1 draw with Italy in Pisa, when he was a sixty-third minute substitute for Kevin Doyle. His fourth game for Ireland saw him start in the 0-0 World Cup Qualifier at Croke Park on 14th October 2009 and he played until being substituted after sixty-eight minutes by Leon Best of Coventry City. In January 2011 Hunt turned down the chance of joining Celtic and signed a new two year contract with Reading on 15th February 2011 which would keep him with the club until June 2013. He was part of the team that won the Championship title at the end of the 2011-12 season. Unfortunately Reading were relegated from the EPL at the end of 2012-13 and his contract ran out. As a free agent he signed for Leeds United on a two year contract on 3rd July 2013, rejoining Brian McDermott who had been his Manager at Reading. While with Reading he scored thirty-three League goals in ninety-four starts and fifty-one games from the bench, three goals in six F.A. Cup ties, three goals in five starts and three games from the bench in the League Cup and no goals in three starts in the Championship Play-offs. He made his Leeds United debut on 3rd August 2013, in 2-1 win at Elland Road in the first game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion. He failed to find the net for the first team even though he started thirteen and came of the bench six times in the League and also had one game from the bench in the F.A. Cup. After a good pre-season to the 2014-15 campaign he started the first two games of the campaign at Millwall in the League and at home to Accrington Stanley in the League Cup, but he soon fell from favour and they turned out to be his final games for Leeds. On 27th November 2014 he went on loan to Ipswich Town until the end of December, and, for a while found his scoring touch. He made his debut for the Tractor Boys on 29th November 2014, coming on as an eighty-third minute replacement for Paul Anderson, and scoring the only goal of the game in the final minute of their win over Charlton Athletic at the Valley. He had scored once in four substitute appearances in the League when Ipswich decided not to take him on permanently and he returned to Elland Road at the expiration of the loan period. On 7th January 2015 Hunt and Leeds United came to a mutual agreement to terminate his Elland Road contract, leaving him a free agent. The following day it was announced that he would be joining Ipswich Town on a contract until the end of the season. Two days later he made his debut as a full Ipswich Town player when he came on as a sixty-eighth minute replacement for Paul Anderson in a 0-1 home defeat by Derby County. He was given his first start in the League for the visit to Millwall on 17th January 2015 and celebrated in style scoring in the fifth and fourteenth minute before giving way to Freddie Sears in the sixty-third minute of a 3-1 win. He went on to start three times and make four substitute appearances in the League as Ipswich reached the play-offs and then he came on as an eighty-third minute substitute for Paul Anderson on 16th May 2015 whwn Ipswich bowed out to Norwich City after being beaten 1-3 at Carrow Road. His contract was not renewed at the end of the season.