Over the years, we have sure had some players who could find the net; the very best often more than once in a match and, usually strikers.
In football, scoring a hattrick is quite an achievement and it more than likely means anyone who does, is awarded the Man Of The Match. It also got me thinking about how many Leeds United players have scored hattricks over the years and, I thought to keep it sensible, I would go back as far as 1990.
I’m sure now, many of you can think of at least a few of the players who have, though how many Leeds United players have scored multiple hattricks while playing for us?
Keep reading to find out who makes this list as I go into more detail about the specific examples and, not necessarily in any particular order!
Mark Viduka: The Australian Goal Machine
Scoring 156 goals in 122 appearances, Viduka is many people’s number one Leeds striker over the last couple of decades and he played an important role in our brilliant Champions League run back in the 2000/2001 season.
Viduka actually scored one hattrick for us, coming in a 6-1 thrashing away at Charlton Athletic, during our turbulent 2002/03 campaign. And, yes – I bet you thought I’d forgotten, but I haven’t…
Of course, there was our famous 4-3 victory over Liverpool at Elland Road, in which Viduka hit all four goals in November 2000 – a game I remember well.
Lee Chapman: Mr Reliable In Front Of Goal
Ah, good old ‘Chappers’ as he was affectionately known. Chapman was instrumental for us during the nineties and particularly prolific in the early years.
His first hattrick for us came in the 1990/91 season which included two headers, in a chaotic 5-4 defeat to Liverpool at Elland Road, while the following campaign, he went one better.
In a 6-1 away demolition of our Yorkshire rivals, Sheffield Wednesday in January 1992 he repeated this feat, also scoring twice with his head again. Chapman then followed this up in March, with another during our 5-1 thrashing at home to Wimbledon as we maintained our surge towards the Division One title.
Tony Yeboah: An Unstoppable Force
I think there are probably a number of you who would say Yeboah is the best striker to play for us in the post-Revie era and I’m sure many might find this hard to argue with.
In April 1995, he scored his first for us in a 4-0 home win over Ipswich Town. The following September, Yeboah netted all three goals in our stunning 3-0 UEFA Cup Round One, first leg win over AS Monaco in France.
He then repeated this later that month in the Premier League, when we beat Wimbledon 4-2 away from home. Interestingly, this date (23 September, 1995) was historic as two other players also hit hattricks, with Robbie Fowler and Alan Shearer netting for Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers respectively.
Jermaine Beckford: Lower League Hero
Probably will forever be labelled a legend by fans for, not only helping to promote us to the Championship, but also his goal at Old Trafford against that lot as, against all odds, we famously knocked them out of the FA Cup in January 2010.
He also scored three hattricks for us. His first came in August 2008 as we beat Chester City 5-2 away in the fist round of the League Cup which included a memorable lob from 20 yards out. He hit another the following November during a 5-2 FA Cup First Round victory away at Northampton. Indeed, he is our only player to do this in the FA Cup since.
In March of that season, he hit his first (and only), league hattrick in a 4-0 win over Yeovil Town at Elland Road.
Eric Cantona: A Gift From France
In terms of pure talent and what he could do, I think many Leeds fans would say Cantona was the best since the Revie era, while Yeboah was a lethal finisher. Indeed, the Frenchman could also score goals.
Our players appear to have a habit scoring hattricks against Liverpool, with Cantona starting this (since the beginning of the Premier League) in August 1992 when we beat the Reds 4-3 in the Charity (now Community) Shield. His second one came later that month as we hammered Tottenham 5-0 at home; a much-needed statement win after a 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough. This was also the first ever Premier League hattrick.
Kemar Roofe: A Fleeting Favourite
Roofe had a couple of good seasons for us; certainly coming of age during Marcelo Bielsa’s first season, though he was productive prior to this. His first hattrick for us came in a the second round of the League Cup as we beat Newport County 5-1 at home in August 2017.
The following December, Roofe scored his second hattrick for us in a 3-1 away win at Loftus Road, making it the first time in 87 years that a Leeds player had scored three in a game away at QPR.
Ross McCormack: A Consistent Performer
You could always rely on McCormack to score a goal for us when he was playing and you wouldn’t rule him out finding the net. Indeed, during the 2013/14, he was the Championship top-scorer and his goals would probably have taken us up, if it wasn’t for our leaky defence.
In February 2014, he hit a hattrick for us in a spectacular 5-1 home win against Huddersfield Town, though three months earlier (November) he repeated a feat that no other Leeds Player had done since Viduka. Indeed, he scored all four goals as we beat Charlton Athletic 4-2 away from home.
