Leckey is the hat-trick hero for Donacloney

5 March 2014; A general view of a football. UEFA Under 21 Championship Qualifier, Republic of Ireland v Montenegro, Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght, Co. Dublin. Picture credit: Piaras O Midheach / SPORTSFILE

Steven Lecky was the hero for Donacloney on Saturday afternoon as he netted a hat-trick on a pleasing afternoon.

They headed to Banbridge for the first round of the Mid Ulster Shield and saw off Seapatrick Reserves 4-1.

They had to come from behind to do it as Seapatrick’s second string took the lead with some good individual play.

One of the home players took on three Donacloney men and produced a good pass for his team-mate to shoot past Derek Curran in the Donacloney goal. Curran, however, made some good stops to keep the advantage to just the one goal at half-time.

Ian Stevenson replaced Davy Sterritt at the half and Stevenson immediately set the tone for the rest of the Cloney team to up their game, putting in some strong challenges.

It was Stevenson who then played a clinical ball through to the main man Steven Leckey, who calmly finished to level the scores.

Leckey, who was back into the side for his first game of the season, proved pivotal as he began to terrorise the Seapatrick back line with his strength and speed.

From a Phil Davidson free-kick, Leckey showed his power in the air to head home. He then completed hit hat-trick, forcing the defence into a mistake with his workrate, and again made no mistake with the finish.

David Acheson added a flattering touch to the scoreline by powering the ball in from all of 30 yards with the goal of the game.

The 4-1 win gives Donacloney a real confidence boost going into their league game away to Goodyear this weekend.

DONACLONEY FC; Derek Curran, Jason Stokes, Phil Davidson, Dave Watterson, Damien Higgins, Davy Sterritt, Chris Shields, Mark Watt, David Acheson, Ryan Graham, Steven Leckey.

Substitutes; Ian Stevenson (replaced Sterritt), Tim Carson (not used).