Sean Maguire said he's taken his game "to a new level" after firing in a brilliant treble to blow Dundalk away and pull Cork City an incredible 18 points clear the top of the Airtricity League Premier Division table.
Maguire was brilliant at Oriel Park, a constant menace who provided his team with an out ball every time and took his chances with ruthless efficiency.
Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill watched on from the stands alongside his No 2 Roy Keane as the Kilkenny man gave the Leesiders a 1-0 half-time lead, before killing off the Lilywhites on the turnaround with a glancing header and predatory close-range finish.
Afterwards he admitted Cork's lead at the summit is now "massive", but insisted his team-mates will be keeping their feet on the ground.
"It's massive - 18 points clear, we don't want to get too carried away but it's a very big lead," Maguire told RTÉ Sport.
"We came up here with the mentality of trying to win the game and you seen it, every single one of the boys were brilliant. It was well deserved. I think everyone is trying to put us off our perch. It's just amazing.
"Last year was a great year for myself. This year I worked very hard in the off-season with the conditioning coach. I put a lot of effort into pre-season, worked hard, and I've stepped it up to a new level. I'm just really happy."
"Every single one of the boys was brilliant..." #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/q75nXewpX7
— Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) June 2, 2017
