Matty Taylor: Rovers' striker joy at 12-minute hat-trick
Last updated on .From the section Football
Bristol Rovers striker Matty Taylor says the speed of his 12-minute hat-trick against Wycombe on Tuesday caught him by surprise.
Taylor scored his first hat-trick in the Football League as Rovers won 3-0 to move up to 10th in League Two.
The 25-year-old's goals came in the 60th, 62nd and 72nd minute.
"I was shattered so I wasn't really looking at the clock to be honest," Taylor told BBC Radio Bristol. "I knew it was quite fast but not that fast."
Taylor, who joined Rovers from non-league Forest Green Rovers, added: "I've come from a semi-pro background where I would bang them in for fun, but we can't really count that can we?
| Treble Top at the Gas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Four minutes | Dai Ward (77, 78, 80 mins) | 22.12.56 v Doncaster R |
| Nine minutes | Vic Lambden (18, 25, 27 mins) | 19.03.48 v Aldershot |
| Nine minutes | Peter Beadle (30, 38, 39 mins) | 30.11.96 v Bury |
| 11 minutes | Peter Beadle (45, 51, 56 mins) | 10.04.98 v Wigan A |
| 12 minutes | Matt Taylor (60, 62, 72 mins) | 2.12.15 v Wycombe |
| 15 minutes | Phil Taylor (10, 12, 25 mins) | 18.12.35 v Oldham A |
| Source: Mike Jay, Bristol Rovers Historian & Statistician | ||
"I'm just delighted, I've come a long way and I'm just happy to finally get a hat-trick in the Football League."
His hat-trick was the fastest for Rovers since Peter Beadle (11 minutes) in 1998 and his manager Darrell Clarke paid tribute to the forward, who he says has shown great character since joining in 2014.
"He did fantastically," said Clarke. "He's a lad that's high on confidence.
"He's had dry spells since he's been at the football club and it shows his character that he bounces back to go on scoring runs."
