Ex-Huddersfield Player Scores 20 Minute Hat-Trick in Crushing Northampton Victory

Former Huddersfield youngster Matt Crooks scored a clinical first half hat-trick as Northampton thrashed Macclesfield in League Two on Tuesday evening.

Crooks only scored four goals in 30 appearances for the Cobblers last season but Tuesday's treble means that he has already surpassed that total after just 13 appearances so far in this campaign.

The Huddersfield Examiner reports that Crooks scored goals in the 23rd, 33rd and 43rd minutes as Northampton, who had only won two league matches all season before Tuesday, ran riot at Moss Rose against the Football League's bottom club.

His first and third goals were classy finishes from outside the box, while his second was a simple tap-in after a well worked corner routine.

Daniel Powell also scored in the first half as Northampton built a commanding four-goal advantage before the break. Aaron Pierre added a late fifth as Keith Curle's team climbed to 18th in the League Two table.

Crooks was on the books at Huddersfield from the age of 15 onwards and was nominated for Apprentice of the Year when the Terriers were in League One.

But his only first team appearance for the club came in the 4-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on the opening day of the 2015/16 Championship season.

He has been around the houses since then, playing for Accrington Stanley, Rangers and Scunthorpe before joining Northampton in July 2017.