Wheeeeeeeee that was fun.
Four goals - yep, one more than a hat-trick - for 31-year-old Stephen Dobbie as the Premier League’s Crystal Palace stomped their first preseason opponents a laughable 13-1 in Austria.
20-year-old youngster Jonny Williams also picked himself up a brace, as did Joe Ledley - who opened the scoring just five minutes into the match - and Glenn Murray grabbed two as well.
This flurry came against GAK Graz, a club born in 1902 but dissolved in 2012 and reborn in the amateur division - currently the 7th tier - of Austrian soccer.
The fledgling club picked up its only score in the 59th minute, the first goal of the second half believe it or not, and just three minutes before Dobbie slammed home three of his four goals in a five-minute span.
GAK used to be a major player in the Austrian league, winning league titles in 2000 and 2002. But three different bankruptcies between 2006 and 2012 meant they were first banished to a lower division and finally forced to close. Passionate supporters rose the club from the dead, but have had to start the team from the bottom of the ladder.
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Dobbie (pictured, left) has played just one time since arriving at Palace in 2013, spending almost all his time on loan at Blackpool. Also getting time were , Stuart O’Keefe, Jose Campaña, and former Arsenal man Marouane Chamakh, who scored.
Rounding out the goal barrage was Yannick Bolaise, Jake Gray, and Jerome Thomas.
One last tidbit, Sky Sports had a little fun with Jonny Williams and the Palace scoring sheet during their match report, which the keen eye will pick up:
Here is a full match report if you wish to read more about the game.
Also, here is more about GAK Graz from Crystal Palace’s official match preview.
