The frontman added his sixth, seventh and eighth goals of the season on Tuesday
Striker Aaron Collins was due to be replaced at half-time in MK Dons’ win over Brentford U21s but boss Paul Warne felt a hat-trick could be on the cards for the Welshman.
Collins netted twice in the lengthy first-half stoppage time, brought about by a nasty injury to young Bees frontman Luka Bentt as Dons took a 3-0 lead in with them to the break.
Sat on a brace, Warne admitted afterwards he had intended on wrapping Collins up at half-time, but felt a third goal was still in the offing for the striker, something which he delivered just three minutes after the restart.
Collins now has eight goals to his name this season, matching his tally from last term in just nine appearances.
“I intended to take Aaron off at half-time,” Warne admitted afterwards. “But he was on a brace and as I’ve gotten older and softer, I thought he had a chance of a hat-trick so we kept him on and luckily he got it straight away.
“I’m pleased for him, he’s a comfortable finisher.”
It was a great night for Dons as they secured their biggest win since the 7-0 win over Oldham Athletic in December 2014, with two new goal-scorers adding their names to the list in the form of Ibrahim Fullah and Sim Troso, while Sam Nombe overcame missing a penalty to re-open his scoring account after returning to the club in the summer.
“It was a good opportunity for Sam to get a goal, and for everyone to get some confidence,” Warne continued. “When Sam missed the penalty, I hoped it wouldn’t have a negative impact on his performance and then he bends one in from 30 yards! It was good for him, it gets it off his back.
“Sim got a goal too, his performance was excellent playing in three different positions so I’m really pleased for him. And Ib got his first goal as well.
“There were some really good performances, and we kept going once the scoreline was comfortable.”
Marring the evening slightly for Warne though was conceding late on, just as they did against Crawley a couple of weeks earlier, to deny a clean sheet.
He added: “Will (Dennis) kept us in it, it could have been about 12-4. It’s unfortunate he hasn’t kept a clean sheet. He seems to play unreal, and then something happens late in a game.”