Forward Rushian Hepburn-Murphy is “over the moon” after Tranmere Rovers’ 3-1 victory away at 10-man MK Dons on Saturday.
Hepburn-Murphy, on loan from Premier League side Aston Villa, opened the scoring with 19 minutes played when he turned low past goalkeeper Lee Nicholls from Kieron Morris’ cross.
Ben Reeves struck an equaliser for the Dons before Kieran Agard was dismissed by referee Matthew Donohue for a high tackle on Neil Danns.
And Micky Mellon’s men took full advantage when Hepburn-Murphy emphatically struck twice more after that to secure a second Sky Bet League One win of the campaign.
Hepburn-Murphy said: “Words can’t describe how I feel like now, it’s my first professional hat-trick and I’m over the moon, and the lads in the changing room are all over the moon for me and it’s a positive overall.
“After I got the first one early on in the game, I thought I wanted to get myself another one, and then when I got the second one, I thought I’m definitely getting a hat-trick, and I got it and I’m delighted with the hat-trick.
“Kieron (Morris) is a very good player and once I saw him get it out of his feet, I knew it was coming in straight across the box, so I got myself out there, luckily I got ahead of defender and got my goal.
“The third one, I used my turn of pace to get ahead of the defender and once I get the first one, I’m confident that I can get another one and it’s how I got my hat-trick.
“It boosts my confidence going into next week’s game.”
Rushian’s post-match interview will be available on iFollow. CLICK HERE to sign up and watch!