Soccer: Ferguson delighted to join hat-trick heroes club as Brighton beat Newcastle

Ferguson netted once in the first half and twice in the second to grab the headlines

BRIGHTON (Reuters) – Brighton & Hove Albion's teenage striker Evan Ferguson found himself in some illustrious company on Saturday as his three goals matched the Premier League hat-tricks scored by Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min.

Ferguson netted once in the first half and twice in the second to grab the headlines as the Seagulls easily beat Newcastle 3-1 and added his name to the list of hat-trick scorers on the day.

"It's not bad company to be in with, them boys – obviously Haaland's record last season (was excellent), and Son has been doing it for a number of years, so it's good company to be in," the 18-year-old Ferguson told the BBC referring to the Norwegian's 52-goal haul across all competitions.

Ferguson's hat-trick had a little bit of everything, with a poacher's finish to open, then a shot from distance and a little slice of luck as he rounded it off with a deflected shot.

"The first goal is a striker's thing, you have to be ready, luckily it fell to me and I could get it in. The second one, we talked about me having a bit more time than I thought in the first half," he said.

"In the second half I thought I would get it and turn and tried to run at the defence and get a shot off so then luckily it went in and it all worked out.

"The third one, it was good to get it in off the mark. People are going to say it was a deflection but we're going to count it," Ferguson added.

The striker said he is looking forward to playing alongside attacker Ansu Fati, who has arrived on a season-long loan from Barcelona.

"It's tough up our end of the pitch and he's going to be another one chucked in there, and I reckon he's going to be very good for us," he said.