Non-League striker delighted after stunning quickfire hat-trick

(Picture: Steve Waller)
By Matt Bishop
There’s a famous old saying in football: “It only takes a second to score a goal.”
Well, Liam Hillyard might have created a new commentary cliche after scoring a hat-trick for Suffolk & Ipswich League side Achilles in only five minutes during their amazing win at home to Coplestonians on Saturday.
After just 45 minutes, the previously unbeaten visitors had conceded a staggering seven times, with Achilles, and Hillyard in particular, going goal crazy as he grabbed a quickfire treble.
“It’s certainly the quickest hat-trick I’ve ever scored, and I’ve not heard of quicker,” the in-form striker told Green’Un 24. “I definitely felt like I was in the zone.
“You don’t think about what’s happening, you just react – when a chance comes, you just take it.
“I didn’t even realise it was that quick! The first was a cross from the right which bounced up and I put it over the keeper’s head, the second was a one-one-one with the keeper and the third was a turn and shoot from the edge of the area with my weaker foot, which was nice.
“We thought it would be a really tough game so we went into really fired up – and that showed with the half-time score!”
Saturday’s huge win continued Achilles’ impressive start to the season, in which they’re won all five of their games, have a positive goal difference of +20 and are just two points off leaders Felixstowe Harpers United with two games in hand.
The big win further cemented Achilles’ red hot start this season – they’ve won five from five and already have a goal difference of plus 20 as they go in search of the SIL Senior title.
The dream is to win the league, and Hillyard said: “I think we have a great team spirit. You can get all the stars in like some teams do, but that doesn’t always work.
“We’ve kept faith with people from last year and kept going. The league is certainly achievable this year, we always have a fighting chance.
“We always seem to finish second, so hopefully this will be our year!”