Carshalton Athletic striker Tommy Bradford broke his personal goal drought in emphatic style on Monday night.
The 20-year-old grabbed a second-half hat-trick as the Robins recorded a 4-1 win over Guernsey to move into the top 10 in Ryman Division One South.
And the forward, who had only scored once this season before his treble, revealed he felt a weight lift off his shoulders come the final whistle.
“I would have been happy to score once, but it felt amazing to end up with a hat-trick,” said Bradford, whose goals all came in the last 20 minutes.
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“The fact goals haven’t been easy to come by this season has been on my mind, but hopefully I can push on from this and add a few more to my game.”
Carshalton’s first-ever win against Guernsey began when Youssef Bamba scored his first goal for the club on six minutes, but the visitors restored parity just before half-time.
The Robins got back on the front foot in the second-half however and Bradford’s second career hat-trick helped banish the memory of defeat at Hythe Town last weekend.
“It was important to bounce back after last Saturday. We controlled most of the game against Guernsey and played some good football,” Bradford added.
“But sometimes we’ll need to mix up our style, particularly away from home, so that we can get on a run of good results.”
Next up for the Robins is a trip to struggling East Grinstead Town on November 3 (kick-off 7.45pm).
Get in: Youssef Bamba opens the scoring against Guernsey
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