What did you do with your weekend? Trip to the beach? Six60 at Eden Park? Bit of DIY over the long weekend? 

Well it would be difficult to find anyone who achieved more than Chris Wood. 

Going into the weekend’s game against Wolves, Wood sat equal with fellow Burnley striker Ashley Barnes as the club’s joint all-time leading Premier League goalscorer, both on 41. 

He was in good form, with 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 5 EPL games as Burnley continued their push for survival away from the relegation zone. 

But Sunday’s game was something else. 

On the 15^th minute Wood struck. Skilfully weaving around Wolves centre-back Conor Coady to finish past keeper Rui Patricio from a tight angle. 42, Wood was out in front as his team’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer. 

Six minutes later it was two. Clarets winger Dwight McNeil cutting the ball back across goal for Wood to finish into an empty Wolves net. 43. 

There hasn’t been a first half-trick scored in the Premier League for over two decades, since Michael Owen in 1998, and only three ever. That changed on the 44^th minute as Wood rose to meet McNeil’s corner, heading himself into the record books with a hat-trick to take his all-time EPL total for Burnley to 44. 

An assist for Ashley Westwood in the 85^th minute capped off the complete striker performance, winning the game 4-0 and becoming the first ever Burnley player to achieve a perfect 10 rating from WhoScored.com. 

This was the first time ever a New Zealander has scored a hat-trick in the Premier League. It took Wood to 10 goals for the season, with 5 games still to play, meaning he has scored 10 or more in each of the last four seasons, making him just one of six players to do so, including Premier League megastars Harry Kane and Mo Salah. 

“It’s been one of the best days of my life. It really has” Wood commented after the game. 

A day to be remembered in Kiwi football history. 

Article added: Tuesday 27 April 2021