Cockhill Celtic’s Adam McLaughlin savours historic hat-trick

Hat-trick hero Adam McLaughlin has hailed ‘unreal’ Cockhill after a gripping FAI Senior Cup win.

McLaughlin scored three times in 24 minutes after coming off the bench as Cockhill defeated St Mochta’s 5-4 after extra-time.

McLaughlin was sprung from the bench with Cockhill trailing 2-0 and, with his first touch, curled a free kick to the top corner. The midfielder added a stunning effort from long range and completed the treble with a penalty.

Cockhill’s statisticians say McLaughlin is the first player from the club to score an FAI Cup hat-trick with Paul McKinney having scored a hat-trick in the EA Sports Cup.

“It was mad to play in that game,” McLaughlin said.

Cockhill Celtic seal breathless FAI Senior Cup win over St Mochta's

A 24-minute hat-trick from Adam McLaughlin and a double by Garbhan Friel in extra time puts Cockhill Celtic into the first round proper

“It was just up and down, up and down and you didn’t know what was coming next. It was a great game to win.

“Gavin (Cullen) just said to me to get on and make an impact. I just wanted to get on the ball and get at them, have a go if the opportunity came. That’s what I did.”

Of his goals, McLaughlin said: “I don’t know where that came out of. I just hit it and luckily enough it went in. The second one just fell to me, I just hit it and hoped for the best!

“The confidence was up and I wanted the hat-trick too. Fair play to the boys, they gave the penalty to me.”

Cockhill did it the hard way, Garbhan Friel bagging a brace in extra time to steer the Inishowen men into the first round proper.

McLaughlin firmly put his hand up for inclusion in the FAI Intermediate Cup final. Cockhill play Rockmount on April 23 and Saturday’s replacements certainly gave Cullen food for thought.

McLaughlin said: “The depth that we have in the squad is crazy. We have like-for-like in every position. I don’t think you’ll find any better players anywhere and the bench makes a massive difference.”

Friel maintained his excellent recent form with his extra-time double, including a winner with the final attack of the game.

McLaughlin said: “Garbhan is flying at the minute. He’s been amazing at training and it’s great to keep him scoring. It was a brilliant header there to win it.

“You can’t beat winning in the last minute, it’s an unbelievable feeling. We showed great character to keep coming back and keep pushing. This is an unreal team that we have here.”