{{short description|British footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Nathan Austin | image = | caption = <!-- Austin, right, rounding Dumbarton goalkeeper, Scott Gallacher, to score one of his three goals in a 5–1 win. --> | fullname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|2|15|df=y}} | birth_place = Hertfordshire, England<ref name="Profile">{{cite web |url=http://eastfifefc.info/index.php/team/squad/players |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222094644/http://eastfifefc.info/index.php/team/squad/players |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 December 2015 |title=Team Squad 2015/18|publisher=eastfifefc.info |accessdate=15 January 2016 }}</ref> | height = | position = Striker | currentclub = East Fife | clubnumber = 14 | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = East Wemyss District U15 | youthyears2 = {{0|0000}}–2013 | youthclubs2 = Leven United | years1 = 2013–2016 | clubs1 = East Fife | caps1 = 72 | goals1 = 28 | years2 = 2016–2017 | clubs2 = Falkirk | caps2 = 31 | goals2 = 7 | years3 = 2016 | clubs3 = → East Fife (loan) | caps3 = 15 | goals3 = 8 | years4 = 2018–2019 | clubs4 = Inverness Caledonian Thistle | caps4 = 35 | goals4 = 10 | years5 = 2019–2023 | clubs5 = Kelty Hearts | caps5 = 34 | goals5 = 49 | years6 = 2021 | clubs6 = → East Fife (loan) | caps6 = 3 | goals6 = 1 | years7 = 2023– | clubs7 = East Fife | caps7 = 78 | goals7 = 30 | club-update = 4 May 2026 }}
'''Nathan Austin''' (born 15 February 1994), also known as '''Fash''', is an English professional footballer, who plays as a striker for {{Scottish football updater|EastFife}} club East Fife.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/kelty-hearts-signal-ambition-after-signing-championship-striker-1-4930138|title=Kelty Hearts signal ambition after signing Championship striker|website=www.scotsman.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-21}}</ref> He has also previously played for Falkirk, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Kelty Hearts.
==Career== Austin, born in Hertfordshire, England<ref name="Profile"/> moved to Scotland with his family in 2001 at the age of seven.<ref name="Racist abuse">{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/racist-abuse-set-to-drive-young-972217 |title=Racist Abuse Set To Drive Young Scots Talent From Football |publisher=Daily Record |date=22 March 2008 |accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Racist abuse"/> Initially it was reported that he was to quit football because of the abuse,<ref name="Racist abuse"/> however he vowed to persevere after receiving support from the public<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/race-taunt-teen-nathan-austin-972294 |title=Race taunt teen Nathan Austin vows to play on and beat bigots |publisher=Daily Record |date=24 March 2008 |accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref> and then-Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/race-taunt-footballer-nathan-austin-972698 |title=Race taunt footballer Nathan Austin told not to let bigots win during Hampden visit |publisher=Daily Record |date=28 March 2008 |accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref> Eventually Austin signed for amateur side Leven United, before moving on to Scottish League One side East Fife in July 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eastfifefc.info/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/983-new-signings-for-the-fife |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110225533/https://eastfifefc.info/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/983-new-signings-for-the-fife |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 November 2022 |title=New Signings for The Fife |publisher=eastfifefc.info |date=26 July 2013 |accessdate=20 January 2016 }}</ref><ref name="January 2016 target">{{cite web |url=http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2016/01/05/reported-aberdeen-dundee-motherwell-target-nathan-austin-cool-on-future-but-wants-a-crack-at-full-time-football/ |title=Reported Aberdeen, Dundee & Motherwell target Nathan Austin cool on future – but wants a crack at full-time football |publisher=Deadline News |date=5 January 2016 |accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref>
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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spfl.co.uk/challenge-cup/fixture/3634990/ |title=Forfar Athletic 2–1 East Fife |publisher=Scottish Professional Football League |date=27 July 2013 |accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref> and his first goal for the side came in a 1–0 defeat of Arbroath in January 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spfl.co.uk/league-one/fixture/3635269/ |title=East Fife 1–0 Arbroath |publisher=Scottish Professional Football League |date=2 January 2014 |accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref> 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<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/29389708 |title=East Fife 7–0 Threave Rovers |publisher=BBC Sport |date=5 October 2014 |access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref> and four in the league against Elgin City in a 3–5 victory.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/30609347 |title=Elgin 3–5 East Fife |publisher=BBC Sport |date=3 March 2015 |access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref> 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<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34300191 |title=Montrose 1–4 East Fife |publisher=BBC Sport |date=26 September 2015 |access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref> and Stirling Albion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35140696 |title=Stirling 1–3 East Fife |publisher=BBC Sport |date=26 December 2015 |access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name="January 2016 target"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/bairns-seal-deal-for-nathan-austin/ |title=Bairns seal deal for Nathan Austin |publisher=falkirkfc.co.uk |date=15 January 2016 |accessdate=15 January 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
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,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35271020.app |title=Annan Athletic 2-4 East Fife; match report |publisher=BBC Sport |date=16 January 2016 |accessdate=17 April 2016}}</ref> and also scored the following week in a 3–1 away victory at East Stirling.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35331329 |title= East Stirlingshire 1-3 East Fife |publisher=BBC Sport |date=23 January 2016 |accessdate=17 April 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36004581 |title=Clyde 0-0 East Fife |publisher=BBC Sport |date=17 April 2016 |accessdate=17 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/EastFifeFC/status/721406751170564097 |title=East Fife Twitter |publisher=Twitter |date=17 April 2016 |accessdate=17 April 2016}}</ref>
Austin spent just under two years with Falkirk, before being released from his contract in December 2017. He then signed for Inverness Caledonian Thistle,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://spfl.co.uk/news/article/january-transfer-window-signings-22/ |title=January transfer window signings |publisher=SPFL |date=4 January 2018 |accessdate=4 January 2018 |archive-date=5 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105070131/https://spfl.co.uk/news/article/january-transfer-window-signings-22/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> He was loaned to East Fife in March 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/sport/19169120.kelty-hitman-austin-rejoins-east-fife-loan/|title = Kelty hitman Austin makes temporary Fifers switch}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spfl.co.uk/news/article/east-fife-sign-kelly-and-austin/ |title=East Fife sign Kelly and Austin |publisher=Scottish Professional Football League |date=8 January 2016 |accessdate=15 January 2016 |archive-date=23 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723122541/https://spfl.co.uk/news/article/east-fife-sign-kelly-and-austin/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Career statistics== {{Updated|28 September 2020}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|Scottish Cup !colspan="2"|League Cup !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="4"|East Fife |2013–14<ref>{{soccerbase season|71156|2013|accessdate=10 November 2017}}</ref> |Scottish League One ||22||4||1||0||1||0||5<ref group=lower-alpha>One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; four appearances and one goal in the League One play-offs</ref>||1||29||5 |- |2014–15<ref>{{soccerbase season|71156|2014|accessdate=10 November 2017}}</ref> |rowspan="2"|Scottish League Two ||30||10||2||3||1||0||5<ref group=lower-alpha>Three appearances and one goal in the Scottish Challenge Cup; two appearances in the League One play-offs</ref>||1||38||14 |- |2015–16<ref name="NA15">{{soccerbase season|71156|2015|accessdate=10 November 2017}}</ref> |20||14||2||0||2||2||1<ref group=lower-alpha name="SCC">Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup</ref>||0||25||16 |- !colspan="2"|East Fife Total !72!!28!!5!!3!!4!!2!!11!!2!!92!!35 |- |rowspan="4"|Falkirk |2015–16<ref name="NA15"/> |rowspan="3"|Scottish Championship |0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |2016–17<ref name="NA16">{{soccerbase season|71156|2016|accessdate=10 November 2017}}</ref> |17||6||0||0||4||1||2<ref group="lower-alpha" name=":0">Appearances in the Premiership play-offs</ref>||0||23||7 |- |2017–18<ref name="NA17">{{soccerbase season|71156|2017|accessdate=10 November 2017}}</ref> |14||1||0||0||4||3||3<ref group=lower-alpha name="SCC"/>||1||21||5 |- !colspan="2"|Falkirk Total !31!!7!!0!!0!!8!!4!!5!!1!!44!!13 |- |East Fife (loan) |2015–16<ref name="NA15"/> |Scottish League Two |15||8||0||0||0||0||0||0||15||8 |- | rowspan="3" |Inverness Caledonian Thistle |2017–18<ref name="NA17"/> | rowspan="2" |Scottish Championship |27||7||0||0||4||3||3<ref name="SCC" group="lower-alpha" />||1||34||11 |- |2018–19 |23 |4 |6 |0 |4 |3 |2<ref name=":0" group="lower-alpha" /> |0 |35 |7 |- ! colspan="2" |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 |- ! colspan="3" |Career total !178!!83!!12!!3!!20!!12!!21!!4!!231!!103 |} {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
==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<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019/20 Lowland League Season|url=http://slfl.co.uk/archive/2019-20-lowland-league-season/|access-date=2020-09-04|website=Scottish Lowland League|language=en-GB}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Soccerbase}}
{{2015–16 PFA Scotland Scottish League Two Team of the Year}} {{2021–22 PFA Scotland Scottish League Two Team of the Year}} {{2023–24 PFA Scotland Scottish League Two Team of the Year}} {{2024–25 PFA Scotland Scottish League Two Team of the Year}} {{East Fife F.C. squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Nathan}} Category:1994 births Category:Men's association football forwards Category:East Fife F.C. players Category:Falkirk F.C. players Category:Living people Category:Scottish men's footballers Category:Scottish Professional Football League players Category:Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. players Category:Footballers from Fife Category:Black British sportsmen Category:Scottish people of Barbadian descent Category:Sportspeople of Barbadian descent Category:Kelty Hearts F.C. players Category:Lowland Football League players Category:Anglo-Scots Category:21st-century Scottish sportsmen