Release Date: Feb 09, 2013

PAUL Heatley helped himself to the match ball with a superb Irish Cup hat-trick as Crusaders swept past Glenavon.

Timmy Adamson opened the scoring for the Crues after barely four minutes with a back post header from a Gareth McKeown right-sided free-kick.

Glenavon 'keeper Andy Coleman got a hand to the ball but couldn't stop it creeping over the line.

It was 2-0 on 12 minutes when David McMaster volleyed over a cross from the right for Heatley to power home a back post header.

Heatley then added a third on 21 minutes with a drilled shot into the bottom right-hand corner before, just two minutes later, grabbing his hat-trick with a tap-in after McMaster created the opening.

Matthew Rooney pulled one back for the beleagured Lurgan Blues on the stroke of half-time when he made the most of a moment of confusion in the home defence to turn the ball past Yohann Lacroix.

Heatley might have added to his tally after the break with a couple of efforts, one which drifted inches wide while another near post header just failed to hit the target.

As it was, other than a Ciaran Doherty effort, Glenavon offered little in a game which was effectively a dead rubber after that early goal blitz.

Match statistics