STAND-IN striker Robert Clift was the toast of Hong Kong Football Club A yesterday after scoring a hat-trick in the defending champions' 5-3 win over Kowloon Cricket Club in the First Division men's clash at King's Park.
The match was crucial for Club as they could not afford to drop further points after losing to Tigers. The task looked tough with regular forwards Angus Emmerson and Tim Andrew both unavailable.
However, they found a worthy replacement in Club B centre-forward Clift.
'Obviously we missed Angus and Tim, but Clifty wasn't a bad replacement eh?' said Club captain Colin Cooper.
'Robert just stepped in and looked like he'd been in the team all season.
'It was a very close match and could have gone either way, but we were a bit stronger towards the end.
'This was a very crucial win for us because the competition is fairly even this year.' Club showed their determination by forcing a penalty corner in the first minute, but KCC goalkeeper Stewart Ryan denied Derek Field an early score.
