Football | Nigeria
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The forward netted the first, fourth and fifth goals of the encounter on Monday as the Yellow Submarine surged up to sixth on the standings.
Speaking to club’s official website, www.villarrealcf.es , the striker said his heroics on Monday night would not have been achieved if he did not receive the support of his teammates.
"I'll take the great work of (my teammates) who have left everything on the field (on Monday) so I could score three goals. I am happy and not only for the goals, but because we have started the year with a win and the truth is that I hope we can continue like this,” he said.
Monday’s milestone meant that Uche became the third Villarreal player to score a hat-trick in the Primera División after Diego Forlan and Juan Roman Riquelme.
He is also the first Nigerian player to score a hat-trick in Spain’s top flight since his elder brother, Kalu, performed the trick, also against Rayo, on March 11, 2012.
The enormity of the accomplishment was not lost on the 30-year-old who promptly dedicated the goals to his teammates.
“It's my first hat-trick and that is why I want to dedicate to the team. The work being done by the team is outstanding. This team fights in every game strives for victory and we are where we are. It's all the result of (hard) work,” he said.
Uche’s solid display against Rayo means he’s likely to be one of the first names on Marcelino’s team sheet when Villarreal arrives at Estadio Municipal de Anoeta to face Real Soceidad in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.
The Nigerian concluded by discussing Thursday’s game predicting that it will be a tough encounter.
"It's not going to be an easy game because we know the quality (that Real Soceidad possesses), but you have to play against well to get a good result and see what happens in the second leg," he said.
Uche has now scored nine league goals this season.
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