Conor Hourihane is having a terrific spell on front of goal.
Last season, the Cork midfielder was in brilliant form for Barnsley before he earned a January move to Aston Villa. While Villa struggled in the second half of last season, the Irish international has grown into his role, he has been one of the team's best players this season.
Despite Villa's loss to Reading midweek, Conor Hourihane scored in the Madjeski Stadium and followed it up on Saturday afternoon with a hat-trick as Steve Bruce's side won their first match of the season.
The Cork midfielder scored three of Villa's four goals in a 4-2 win over Norwich City. Despite the early stage of the season, he is now the The Championship's joint-top scorer.
Having made two international appearances for Martin O'Neill's Republic of Ireland team in recent months, the 26-year-old will hope to force his way into the team for the forthcoming matches against Serbia and Georgia.
Not often do Irish players score hat-tricks in England, let alone from midfield.
They will be happy in Birmingham and Bandon tonight!
What a feeling 👌❤️#PartOfThePride #AVFC pic.twitter.com/JwGyhCmffy
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 19, 2017
