Scotland’s hat-trick heroes

James Forrest’s superb hat-trick at Hampden was only the fourth Scotland treble to have been registered since Colin Stein scored four times in the 8-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Cyprus at the same ground in 1969. Here, Courier Sport looks at the three other hat-tricks.

Steven Fletcher

March 29, 2015 v Gibraltar

Fletcher ended the long gap since Stein’s effort as Gordon Strachan’s men thrashed Gibraltar 6-1 at Hampden Park in a Euro 2016 qualifier.

Following a shock equaliser from the away side, Fletcher – having last scored for his country six years earlier – made it 2-1 just before the half-hour mark with a header and notched two further goals late in the contest.

Steven Fletcher October 11, 2015 v Gibraltar

Fletcher then netted another three times in a 6-0 win when the countries met again in Faro. The striker scored twice in four minutes just after the break, the visitors’ third and fourth goals and added a fine 85th-minute third to make it 5-0.

Robert Snodgrass September 4, 2016 v Malta

Snodgrass was the hat-trick hero as Scotland began their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup with a 5-1 away win against a Malta outfit who ended the game with nine men. The winger opened the scoring in the ninth minute and put Strachan’s men 3-1 up with a 61st-minute penalty before wrapping up his treble with their fifth, following up after Fletcher had hit the crossbar.