The 18-year-old made his debut for the Nationwide Conference side, who are close to the bottom of their division, in a 2-1 win over Dagenham & Redbridge, although the Basildon-based player had been substituted by the time Tony Roberts made his blunder. Three days later he opened his Town account with a mazy run against AFC Bournemouth in a shock 3-2 win for ‘Boro in the Hampshire Senior Cup.
Kightly also appeared in the 0-0 draw with Burton Albion, and completed his fourth match for his adopted club at home to Northwich Victoria, where he experienced defeat for the first time in a 2-0 loss. He missed out, though, on the FA Cup tie with Barnet after Blues boss Steve Tilson declared that he did not want him to be Cup-tied.
With Dean Austin agreeing to put pen to paper on a new deal, the deal with Kightly has now been extended, and he will look to gain even more first-team experience whilst also attempting to force his way into Tilson’s first eleven reckoning. Youth side team-mate Ben Price is currently on work experience with Cambridge City as Tilson and Ross Maclaren hope to enhance the third-year’s chances of getting contracts.
Robert Craven
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