Martin Boyle was left “dizzy” with delight after scoring a stunning hat-trick in the 3-1 Premier Sports Cup semi-final win over Rangers at Hampden Park.
The Australia international secured the match ball after 38 minutes with two strikes and a penalty before Gers midfielder Scott Arfield reduced the deficit with a counter which turned out to be nothing more than a consolation.
To add to the delight of securing a final spot against Celtic next month, Rangers were the only top-flight team that hitherto Boyle had failed to score against and he admits the match is a career highlight.
He said: “I am a bit dizzy. I’ve just read all my messages from friends and family.
“It is quite surreal but the main thing is we are in a cup final which is fantastic.
“I mentioned it to the gaffer yesterday, that I hadn’t scored against Rangers.
“Every time I leave the house my daughter scores a goal so she is going to get a surprise when I come home with the match ball.
“The gaffer joked around yesterday that I was going to score and it is a funny old game – I managed to get three.
“I have probably had a few half-chances against them in games before but nothing like today, which was great.
“I try to score in every game but it was a great feeling. It is up there, it is at the top.
“Obviously I had scored a few goals at Tynecastle and it was a top moment for myself and I was part of that Scottish Cup team (unused sub in 2016), which was brilliant.
“But today I obviously managed to affect the performance, it’s a great feeling. It goes into the history books of the team and the club.”
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