Career
Austin, born in Hertfordshire, England moved to Scotland with his family in 2001 at the age of 7. 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-SFA chief 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 5 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 4 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 appearences, 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.
