Ayoze Perez has revealed his pride after scoring a hat-trick against Southampton at St James' Park.
The Spaniard became the first man to claim the match ball in the Premier League since Gini Wijnaldum in 2015 when the Dutchman scored four in a 6-2 win over Norwich.
Dwight Gayle netted three against Birmingham in 2016 and but this was a special moment for the Toon star, given it was Perez's first.
Speaking after the game he told BT Sports: "I feel very happy to get the hat-trick and help the team to get three important points that puts us in a great position.
"We're now 12th which means a lot. I need to thank my team-mates for the way we are playing and I am very proud of myself for the hat-trick.
"It's been a couple of months that are very important for us.
"We've done very well, We've got great results and now that we're safe we're going to start looking forward and up and finish even better."
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