Partey elated with first career hat-trick

Ghana international Thomas Teye Partey has expressed his delight following his superb performance against Congo in the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers in Brazzaville on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old scored his first career hat-trick as the Black Stars humiliated Congo 5-1,with Richmond Boakye Yiadom adding two more goals.

Partey's performance made him the first Ghanaian to score a hat-trick in any international game since Yaw Preko, who currently coaches Nigerian Professional Football League side Ifeanyi Ubah, did it in 1999 against Eritrea in the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

"I feel very happy [with the hat-trick] because I know with hard work, everything is possible so I just tried to do my best just like I do in every game," Partey told GFA Media.

"When you believe it you can do it and even when you don’t have the talent and you work hard it will happen. We were focus on our upcoming games, and Ghanaians should expect more from the team and support the team and not only one player because all the players make a complete team.

“So I plead with them to support the Black Stars of Ghana and I know with their support we would be able to do greater things," he added. Partey has scored four goals and leads the topscorer's chart in the qualifiers.

Ghana will travel to Uganda next month before they host Egypt at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in November to wrap up the race to Russia 2018.