Kelly Wealthall has described her hat-trick heriocs as an 'amazing feeling' after her three goals helped West Ham United Ladies overcome Portsmouth 7-1.
The 17-year-old's finishes, combined with goals for Hannah Wheeler, Rosie Kmita, Jasmine Auguste and Leanne Mabey, extended West Ham's unbeaten run to 13 competitive matches in 2108, a run that has seen the Irons score an incredible 58 goals in that time.
Wealthall is delighted to have added another three goals to her tally in what was difficult warm conditions at Rush Green, as the Hammers and Portsmouth played under the baking sun.
I'm so thrilled. Today's match was hard graft. Getting a hat-trick is an amazing feeling!
Kelly Wealthall
"I'm so thrilled. Today's match was hard graft. It was a really hot game," Wealthall told whufc.com: "I always try to follow shots up in the penalty box, and that's where my first goal came from. If the goalkeeper parries it out it's an easy goal, so I try to follow them in and that's what happened.
"For the second one, I was ahead of the ball, but I knew there was no one behind me, so I just back-heeled it in. It was a little cheeky! And the third, the header from the corner, I just knew I had to header it downwards and it had a chance of going in, and it did! It's an amazing feeling!"
The Hammers were beaten by Portsmouth 2-1 back in September and Wealthall reckons Sunday's incredible win shows how far the team have come since that contest, with the striker quick to praise the entire team and coaching staff for their efforts in 2018.
She added: "I was saying to Chantelle Mackie after the match that it's amazing how far we've come. Portsmouth beat us 2-1 in September so to come and win 7-1 today just shows the progress we've made. It's an unbelievable win and it shows the transformation in our form.
"Results like this show the hard work the girls have put in, the work that Karen and the coaching team have done with us, and how much we want it. We're still undefeated in 2018 and it's such a big turnarnound.
"All the effort we've all put in has been worth it and it's been a real show of our confidence. We've beaten Portsmouth and we could potentially finish the season above them now. It's massive and we're all so happy."