Easy: Hat-trick

Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

This episode is easy so we’re looking at common football words and phrases. Things you use and need to know to play the game.

Summary

Learn more football vocabulary with Premier Skills English. Each lesson in our Premier Vocabulary section looks at one football word or phrase. This lesson looks at the word hat-trick. 

You can find more lessons on the side of this page.

Transcript

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to Premier Skills English - Premier Vocabulary.

Jack: Hi there! I’m Jack. We’re here to help you with your football English. Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. 

Rich: We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

Jack: This episode is easy so we’re looking at common football words and phrases. Things you use and need to know to play the game.

Rich: The word we are looking at in this episode is hat-trick.

Jack: A hat-trick is three goals in one match. Listen to a section of a match report:

Rich: Sergio Aguero opened the scoring with a powerful right-footed goal in the 12th-minute and got his second with his left five minutes later after a fine pass from Riyad Mahrez. Aguero completed his hat-trick in the second half when he headed home a Kevin De Bruyne cross.

Jack: In this example, Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero scored three goals - he scored a hat-trick.

Rich: Sergio Aguero has scored the most Premier League hat-tricks in Premier League history. He’s scored twelve hat-tricks in the Premier League.

Jack: Traditionally, if a player scores a hat-trick, they get to keep the match ball.

Rich: I imagine that Sergio Aguero needs an extra room in his house for all the match balls he’s got to keep

Jack: In the example, Sergio Aguero scored one goal with his right foot, one with his left foot and one with his head. Do you know what this is called?

Rich: Yes, it’s called a perfect hat-trick. What if one of the goals goes in off your bottom?

Jack: I don’t think it’d be described as perfect - lucky maybe?

Rich: So, where does the word hat-trick come from? I think it’s used in connection with magic. The hat trick is the one when the magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat.

Jack: Well, it seems that the word also has a more general meaning connected to sport. A hat-trick generally means doing three special things in one game and it was used first in the sport of cricket and then many other sports started to use the term as well.

Rich: One player took three wickets in three deliveries which in cricket is very special and very difficult to do.

Jack: This happened a long time ago but the story is that fans were so amazed that they collected money for this player and with all the money they bought him a nice hat.

Rich: A nice hat? I think hats were more popular in the nineteenth century than they are now!

Final whistle

Jack: There is the final whistle!

Rich: We’ll be back soon with more Premier Vocabulary from Premier Skills English.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Comment

Discuss

Who has scored the most Premier League hat-tricks?

What is a perfect hat-trick?