# Nathan Austin

Nathan Austin (born 15 February 1994) is an English professional footballer, who plays as a striker for Scottish League Two club East Fife. He has also previously played for Falkirk, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Kelty Hearts.

## Career

Austin, born in Hertfordshire, England moved to Scotland with his family in 2001 at the age of seven. Whilst playing for youth side East Wemyss District under-15s, Austin came to the attention of the media after being subjected to racist abuse during matches for the side. Initially it was reported that he was to quit football because of the abuse, however he vowed to persevere after receiving support from the public and then-Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith. Eventually Austin signed for amateur side Leven United, before moving on to Scottish League One side East Fife in July 2013.
Austin made his debut for the Methil club in the Scottish Challenge Cup against Forfar Athletic, coming on as an 85th minute substitute for Scott McBride and his first goal for the side came in a 1–0 defeat of Arbroath in January 2014. His second season with the club saw him improve on the five goals he scored in his debut season, with the striker netting 14 times in competitive 38 matches, including a hat-trick against Threave Rovers in the Scottish Cup and four in the league against Elgin City in a 3–5 victory. His third season with East Fife started even more brightly, and by January 2016 Austin had scored 16 goals in 25 appearances, adding two further hat-tricks to his score-sheet against both Montrose and Stirling Albion. His performances attracted the attention of a number of top-tier sides, with Motherwell, Aberdeen and Dundee all reported as targeting Austin for a potential move. Austin was eventually signed by Scottish Championship side Falkirk on 15 January 2016, with the player remaining at Bayview Stadium on loan for the remainder of the season as part of the deal.
Austin continued to lead the line prolifically for the Fifers in the second half of the season; he scored one goal and assisted another the day after his transfer to Falkirk in a 4–2 win away to Annan Athletic, and also scored the following week in a 3–1 away victory at East Stirling. East Fife were to go on a great run of form towards the business end of the season, and eventually finished top of League Two, ensuring promotion to League One and giving Austin a league winners medal.
Austin spent just under two years with Falkirk, before being released from his contract in December 2017. He then signed for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Livingston on 2 January 2018. He scored his first hat-trick for the club on 14 April 2018, in 5–1 win against Dumbarton.
In May 2019, Austin signed for Lowland League side Kelty Hearts. He was loaned to East Fife in March 2021.
However three years on Austin has now returned home to East Fife from Kelty Hearts and signed a two-year contract in June 2023.

## Personal life

Austin's younger brother Jordan was also a footballer and played alongside him at East Fife in Nathan's first spell at the club.

## Career statistics

    As of 28 September 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| East Fife | 2013–14 | Scottish League One | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 5 |
| East Fife | 2014–15 | Scottish League Two | 30 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 14 |
| East Fife | 2015–16 | Scottish League Two | 20 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 16 |
| East Fife | East Fife Total | East Fife Total | 72 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 92 | 35 |
| Falkirk | 2015–16 | Scottish Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Falkirk | 2016–17 | Scottish Championship | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 7 |
| Falkirk | 2017–18 | Scottish Championship | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 5 |
| Falkirk | Falkirk Total | Falkirk Total | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 44 | 13 |
| East Fife (loan) | 2015–16 | Scottish League Two | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 8 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2017–18 | Scottish Championship | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 11 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2018–19 | Scottish Championship | 23 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 7 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Inverness Total | Inverness Total | 50 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 69 | 18 |
| Kelty Hearts | 2019–20 | Lowland League | 25 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 37 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 178 | 83 | 12 | 3 | 20 | 12 | 21 | 4 | 231 | 103 |
* ↑ One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; four appearances and one goal in the League One play-offs
* ↑ Three appearances and one goal in the Scottish Challenge Cup; two appearances in the League One play-offs
* 1 2 3 Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
* 1 2 Appearances in the Premiership play-offs

## Honours
### Club

East Fife
* Scottish League Two: 2015–16
Kelty Hearts
* Lowland League: 2019–20, 2020–21
* Scottish League Two: 2021–22

### Individual

* PFA Scotland Team of the Year League Two: 2015–16
* PFA Scotland Team of the Year League Two: 2021–22
* Lowland League Top Goalscorer: 2019–20