Sky Bet League One side Bristol Rovers completed an astonishing 5-0 rout over Northampton Town, but Ellis Harrison was the star of the show with the front-man netting a seven-minute hat-trick.
Harrison’s opener came on 18 minutes as winger Billy Bodin opened the play to James Clarke. The right-back delivered a low cross into the area which picked out the striker’s timed run perfectly where he diverted Clarke’s cross home.
Ellis applied the finishing touch on 20 minutes as he scored his second of the afteroon. Chris Lines’ corner was met by Mark McCrystal’s powerful header, but the Welshman was on hand to apply the conclusive touch and head over the line from a matter of inches.
The League One striker completed his hat-trick when another low cross was directed goal-bound with an intricate flick from close-range, with Ellis cleverly beating Adam Smith.
Harrison chose not to stop at three goals, however, as he earned himself a fourth goal – and Rovers’ fifth – on 54 minutes. Matt Taylor’s delightful cross from the right picked out Billy Bodin who had his inital shot blocked, however the in-form striker was on-hand to latch onto the loose ball and smash high into the net.
Speaking afterwards, Rovers boss Darrell Clarke said: “When Ellis works hard and listens he gets his rewards. He is showing a lot more maturity these days and is having a really solid season. We could do with a few more goals from him but he has been playing really well.
“He is such a powerful player, who is a real threat on his day. He had a sloppy spell in the first-half after scoring his goals when he got carried away, but then he was back to his best in the second-half.”
