When Brentford kicked-off their Emirates FA Cup campaign four weeks ago, Bryan Mbeumo set a new Club Record. Brentford beat Port Vale 4-1 in a Third Round tie at the start of January. Bryan came off the substitute's bench to score a hat-trick.
That earned him a series of awards and recognition. He was nominated for the Player of the Round prize and was named in the Team of the Round. He has also been named in a five-a-side team of the tournament so far. Bryan also broke new ground as a Brentford FC player.
When he stroked him a penalty to complete his hat-trick at Vale Park, Bryan became the first player in our history to come off the substitute’s bench and grab three goals. He was introduced in the 62nd minute and scored inside three minutes. Within 25 minutes of his introduction, he had a hat-trick.
Substitutes were first introduced to English football in the 1965/66 season. The first Brentford player to be used as a substitute was Hughie McLaughlin against Oldham Athletic in October 1965 while the first to come on and score was Billy Cobb, against Oxford United later that season. That came in unusual circumstances as Cobb replaced injured goalkeeper Chic Brodie with Mel Scott taking his place between the sticks. Cobb came on and scored in a 5-1 win.
Goal scoring substitutes are not a rarity, but hat-tricks in the FA Cup are. The last before Bryan to do so was Matt Harrold in a First Round tie against Gainsborough Trinity in 2003. It was more than 20 years before that – Tony Mahoney in 1982 – the last was scored. Bryan certainly broke new ground at Port Vale.