BOB McHugh was delighted to bag his first hat-trick in a man-of-the-match performance against Alloa. 

The Ton ran riot in the 4-1 win which saw them jump to third in the Championship. 

And hitman McHugh had the magic touch as he took the match ball home following his stunning display against the Wasps.

He told the Tele: “That was my first professional hat-trick. 
“I’ve managed to get a few doubles before and just miss out, so it was nice to get that and the three points to round off the day.”

“It was a nice way to get it with the overhead kick, I don’t know the last time I scored one of them!

“At that point it’s just instinct and you’re turning around once you’ve hit it and hoping it’s hit the back of the net because you don’t see it going in. 

“I was delighted to see the net ripple once it went in.”

McHugh was keen to impress gaffer David Hopkin after starting on the bench in the opening day defeat to Ayr.

He added: “Obviously last week was a wee bit disappointing not starting but we’ve got such a talented squad so I can understand why I wasn’t playing. 

“That’s how it’s going to be this season because we’ve got good strikers and good competition all over the park.

“It’s a case of once you’re in the team, you’ve got to earn your place to stay in there and I don’t think I could’ve done much better than that.

“I didn’t go in with any extra motivation after being dropped, but I just had to keep myself right.

“We’ve got a lot of quality going forward this season, we’re scoring a lot of goals and I don’t think that’s going to be an issue for us.

“For the other forwards and I we’re going to be thriving off that pace and creativity behind us. It’s all positive at the minute.”

McHugh showed he was more than a finisher in the build-up for the Ton’s third, receiving the ball out on the left-hand side before perfectly cushioning a pass into the path of Reece Lyon who slotted the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.

McHugh said: “It was a good break [for Reece Lyon’s goal]. That’s one thing we’ve got is legs in the team. 

“I don’t think we showed that first half, but we did in the second after we upped the tempo and it was good to get an assist too.

“It was important to get the three points because if you go a few weeks without a win then everything will soon get ahead of you.

“We need to be beating the teams in and around us.”