Dom Ballard moves clear at top of EFL scoring charts | OneFootball

Dom Ballard stole the spotlight on Saturday, scoring a perfect hat-trick - right foot, left foot and a header - as Leyton Orient ran out comfortable winners over Reading at Brisbane Road.

The 20-year-old has been a rare bright spark in an otherwise frustrating season for Orient, and his latest treble took him to 15 league goals from just 20 appearances since arriving from Southampton last summer. 

Ballard’s goals are not just standing out in League One either. That hat-trick moved him clear at the top of the EFL scoring charts, nudging ahead of League Two pair Aaron Drinan and Michael Cheek, who had both been sitting on 14. Across 'The 92', only Erling Haaland (20) and Igor Thiago (16) are ahead of him, putting him in elite company.

Perhaps most impressively, it was his second league hat-trick of the campaign - a feat no other player across England’s top four divisions has managed so far this season. His first came back in October, when Orient cruised to a 4-0 home win over Doncaster Rovers.