How former AFC Wimbledon striker overcame Football League 'heartbreak' to become four-time non-league promotion winner - and now he's eyeing number five on Hawks return

It was a deluge of goals for Wessex League Premier Moneys and then Bognor along the Sussex coast which had prompted then-League Two AFC Wimbledon to sign the Waterlooville-based strike ace in January 2012.

At that point all the graft in the non-league had appeared to have paid off, with Prior's move to the Dons coming a matter of weeks after he had impressed - although failing to win a deal - following a brief trial period with Alan Pardew's Premier League Newcastle.

Yet after spending his career outside of the EFL, the then 26-year-old - who has just sealed a return to the Hawks having left National League bound Dorking Wanderers following their play-off promotion - would suffer a ‘heartbreaking’ moment which would virtually end his professional days just three games into his Wimbledon career.

Prior explained: ‘I had a few offers (to go to the EFL after Newcastle trial), then I went to AFC Wimbledon.

‘I think it was in my third start I had a double leg fracture, so that kept me out for just over a year. But then I had to build myself up physically and mentally because I was a shadow of what I was before.

‘I did the rounds a little bit then at Dartford and Margate then I ended up back at Bognor, which was a great move, they had faith in me and vice-versa.

‘It was heartbreaking (leg break). You always dream of being a pro then in my third game at Crawley I broke my leg. You just think then it's down the pan - you've made it, then it's gone again.

‘It was tough, I got a little bit disillusioned, I had a couple of bad moves after that. Going back to Bognor was the best thing I did because it rejuvenated my career, really.’

Having worked tirelessly to make his EFL ambition become a reality, Prior was back in the non-league again following a sole season and just nine appearances for Wimbledon.

Brief unsuccessful stints with Dartford and Margate would come next as he attempted to get his career back on track after such a damaging injury.

But it was much closer to home where he would rediscover his trademark goalscoring form. He banged in the goals for Bognor in a second spell at Nyewood Lane - 40 of them in all competitions in 2015/16 as the Rocks finished runners-up in the Isthmian Premier and reached the FA Trophy semi-finals.

A move to the Hawks followed that summer. Two seasons later - and with a record of 40 goals in 57 league appearances - Prior had helped steered Hawks to successive title wins as they reached the National League, the top tier of non-league football, for the first time in their history.

It was Prior who scored the dramatic late, late winner in the final game of the season - at home to Concord - that clinched the NL South title on goal difference. It was his last game, and goal, for the club.

On leaving Hawks in the summer of 2018, he enjoyed a further two promotions as the Surrey side reached the fifth tier for the first time by winning the National League South play-offs last month.

Prior struck nine NL South goals in 2021/22, of which came three in two wins against Hawks - a club record 8-0 defeat for the club he has just rejoined on Boxing Day and a 3-1 win at Westleigh Park a few days later.

Now, with four non-league promotions in the bag, Prior says he has no regrets about how his fleeting EFL career eventually worked out.

And he remains thankful to the players he has played with for helping his scoring numbers remain so high.

He added: ‘I was late going into it (EFL) when I signed for Wimbledon. I was 23 coming out of non-league then, if you spend 18 months coming back from a bad injury, the odds are heavily stacked against you.

‘I've had some great spells at some great teams in non-league, I met my wife and had two kids in that time, so when that sort of stuff happens you can't have any regrets with how it's all turned out.

‘Obviously the goals have come over the years, which is great, but that's a result of a) working hard and getting in the right areas and b) being in good teams because I'm heavily reliant on the players around me just because of the way I play.

‘With the players that we've got here, hopefully I can bring more goals and just do my best to contribute to the team.’