Age No Barrier For Legend Leworthy
By Richard Atkinson

Mention David Leworthy to any serious follower of non-league football and the conversation will ultimately turn to one subject - age! But Leworthy, 37 next month, loves proving them all wrong and is currently in a purple patch having started the season with a bang. Seven goals in August have brought him the Goalscorer of the Month award for the second time this year, including a hat-trick against one of his former clubs Dover.

"I don't mind telling people how old I am, actually I quite enjoy it" he jokes with Richard Atkinson. "Younger players especially get wound up about it, I just think its a great advert for older players at this and higher levels." He admits that he is no spring chicken, "Obviously I've lost a bit of pace, but hopefully my experience and knowledge will help me through."

That experience and knowledge comes from a distinguished career which started with hometown club Portsmouth, before moving on to Fareham Town. Spotted by Tottenham Hotspur he was purchased for a club record fee of £43,000. With limited opportunities in the first team Dave moved on to successful spells at Oxford United and Reading, before dropping back into the semi pro game to have spells with Farnborough Town, Dover Athletic, Rusden and Diamonds and then on to Kingstonian.

"Football has been my life," he says, "I know my days are numbered but I want to keep it as far away as possible, I just want to keep praying and scoring goals." Indeed goalscoring is obviously what he does best, his first goal this season against Dover (18/08/99) was his 50^th for the club in only 103 appearances, showing exactly why Geoff Chapple paid a Kingstonian club record £18,000 to lure him away from Nene Park.

He bagged a total of 30 goals (22 league) Including two hat-tricks against Walton & Hersham and the only goal in K's vital win at Boreham Wood, to play a major part in K's Ryman league victory and promotion to the Conference in his first season. To follow that, it took him only 8 minutes to score K's first ever goal in the Conference, with the opening day win at home to Hereford, and fittingly it was he who ended K's historic first Conference campaign with the winner at Doncaster. He finished that season, his second with K's, scoring 17 others (12 League) along the way, despite playing second fiddle to West Ham bound Gavin Holligan during the mid part of the season.

"As a striker, even if you play well, but don't score you are a bit disappointed. When you do score a goal it gives you a great buzz," he said.

"Geoff (Chapple) knows that later in the season, I'm not going to last the full 90 minutes, and has built a great squad which I'm just pleased to be part of it, because since I've come here the medals simply haven't stopped."

"People talk about lucky managers but it can't all be luck, he brings in players that work for him - he has a habit of making decisions that work for him. Every time he makes a substitution or a change something happens, you can't knock him for it, that is what management is all about and he is brilliant."

But how does he stay so sharp and fit - "rest" proclaims the man they call grandad. "Rest at the right time is just as important as training hard - getting rest when you need it."

One of Leworthy's biggest disappointments came with Oxford when they reached Wembley in what was then the milk cup in 1986. Unfortunately he was cup tied and had to watch from the stands. But he, a legend in the non-league game, was not to be denied his place at the venue of legends and nobody in the 20,000 crowd on May 15th could deny him that.