Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa came close to writing his name among the fastest hat-tricks in the PSL era after a 8-1 trouncing of Marumo Gallants.
Pirates wrote a new history in the PSL, after becoming the first team to score seven goals without conceding in one half, as they went to the half-time break tied 1-1, only going ahead in the first minute courtesy of an own goal by Kenneth Nthetheni, before the floodgates opened in the second stanza.
For his efforts, Mabasa scored three goals within 17 minutes, in the 47th, 53rd and 64th minute and his hat-trick will go down as one of the fastest in the PSL, even though he did not get close to a record holder.
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Former Moroka Swallows striker James Chamanga remains undisputedly the quickest player to score three goals in one match, after he completed his hat-trick in just five minutes in a 6-2 demolition of Platinum Stars in 2007.
In that game, Chamanga actually scored five goals, after scoring twice again in the 86th and 88th minute.
Second on the list of the fastest hat-tricks is Bhongolwethu Jayiya, who scored three goals in ten minutes for Cape Town City in their 4-1 thrashing of Chippa United in 2017.
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The third fastest is former Kaizer Chiefs striker Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana, who scored three goals in 11 minutes, in Amakhosi's 3-1 win over Stellenbosch in October 2022.
Bimenyimana became the first player in the history of professional football in the country to score three goals all from the penalty spot.
However, Bimenyimana's hat-trick had an interval, after he scored his first penalty in that game against Stellies on the stroke of half-time and scored a further two spot-kicks in the 49th and 56th minutes.
Mabasa made a massive improvement in terms of time from his first hat-trick in a 7-1 hammering of Golden Arrows in April last season, after it took him 67 minutes to complete his three-goal haul.
