🎩⚽️ Paddy Madden's first ever #EFL hat-trick takes his tally to nine goals this season!
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) October 21, 2019
🔥 That makes him the second highest scorer in the top four tiers of English football this season...@Paddymadden @ftfc #FTFC pic.twitter.com/Rby4B7HGVv
IRISH STRIKER PADDY Madden earned praise from manager Joey Barton after his hat-trick inspired the team to a 4-1 win over Burton Albion on Saturday.
The Dubliner has enjoyed a fine start to the season — with nine goals in 12 games so far, he is currently the joint third highest scorer in the top four tiers of English football (another Irishman, Eoin Doyle, has scored the same number of goals in League Two, while Peterborough duo Mohamed Eisa and Ivan Toney are top with 10).
“I am pleased with many aspects of the game, especially with the front two, Paddy Madden and Ched Evans,” Barton told Fleetwood’s official website. “One got a hat-trick and an assist, with the other getting the other goal and I thought some of the service was top quality.
“At half-time, we asked some of the lads to do some of the things we were practicing in the week in terms of the areas of the box we wanted the ball going, as we felt we had runners in there. We executed that superbly in the second half.
Wes [Burns] has put a great ball in the box for Paddy to get on the end of and then find Ched [Evans] who then goes on and scores. Then in the second half, Lewie Coyle put in a great cross along with Wes to pick out Paddy.”
The 29-year-old former Bohs striker, who won an Ireland cap in 2013, has established himself as one of the top strikers in League One.
He hit 15 goals in 44 appearances last season, while his more recent exploits have helped Fleetwood climb to their current position of fourth in the table.
On Madden’s hat-trick, Barton added: “Paddy has been pushing hard for a starting place and as a coaching staff, we felt that there was an opportunity for us to run on the inside of their full-back and cause problems for them and we certainly delivered on that.
“That is why ultimately we went on to get four goals in the match and the three points today.”
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