Tuesday 8th March 2016
MAGNIFIQUE. C’est super. Tres bien.
All words which you could easily have said to Christian Nade as he emerged with the match ball under his arm.
But all he wants to hear? Three points.
The Frenchman earned that ball by scoring Dumbarton’s first hat-trick for three years in the 3-1 win over Alloa Athletic.
And after only four games in the Championship for Sons, he’s already the club’s top league goalscorer this season, his treble putting him level with Garry Fleming.
Perhaps more importantly, it restored the gap to four points over second-bottom Livingston, with Dumbarton enjoying a game in hand.
He said: “It’s my first hat-trick in my professional career, so I’m delighted, but it was important to get the victory.
“The game went very well and we needed to react after the game at Livingston on Saturday.
“We didn’t respond well at Livingston, so we had to win the game tonight. We had to start well and to get the early goal was good.
“I actually think it’s the first shot I’ve had for Dumbarton!
“I’m level with Garry as the top league goalscorer but he’s done very well. He did all the hard work for me and the partnership worked amazingly well.”
Now it is on to Falkirk’s live televised visit on Saturday, a match which maybe takes on extra significance as it is also a game in hand on Livi.
As the West Lothian side were due to face League Cup finalists Hibernian, they will now be idle this weekend.
And the presence of the BBC Alba cameras is set to spur Christian and his team-mates on.
He added: “It’s a really important game as we need to put some distance between ourselves and Livingston.
“I sometimes do well in front of the TV cameras! But it’s football, so you never know.”
Andy Galloway