Championship star breaks English football record just 15 minutes into match

QPR’s Richard Kone stunned Swansea on Saturday with the fastest hat-trick from kick-off since English football records began. Kone took less than two minutes to open the scoring at Loftus Road, before doubling the hosts’ lead seven minutes later. And when QPR were awarded a penalty, he did the business from 12 yards to put Julien Stephan’s side seemingly out of sight within a quarter of an hour. In doing so, Kone recorded the earliest hat-trick from the start of a match in England’s top four divisions since records began (in the 2004/05 season when the EFL rebrand took place). He beats the previous record held by Sadio Mane for Southampton against Aston Villa in 2015 by a minute. Mane still boasts the fastest hat-trick in terms of time elapsed between the first and third goals – scoring all three within two minutes and 56 seconds in that famous 6-1 victory for Saints. But Kone now has his own little slice of English football history. Kone out of nowhere Kone’s quickfire treble was made all the more remarkable by the fact that Swansea came into the game boasting the league’s best defensive record. Swansea had conceded just eight goals in 11 Championship matches prior to Saturday. It’s certainly some way to get off the mark for the season – Kone had only scored once in 13 games since March. But he wasted no time in drawing level with Paul Smyth as QPR’s top league goalscorer this term. This was Kone’s second professional hat-trick – and his first at Championship level. He previously helped himself to three goals for Wycombe Wanderers against Peterborough United in League One in October 2024, completing that hat-trick within 11 minutes of coming off the bench. The 23-year-old has now scored 34 EFL goals, having been given his big break by Wycombe. Kone’s story so far The Chairboys signed Kone from non-League Athletic Newham in January 2024. Born in the Ivory Coast, the striker had initially come to England to play in the 2019 Homeless World Cup. And since banging in an utterly prolific 42 goals in 48 games in his first season in the Essex Senior League, he’s gone from strength to strength. Kone left Wycombe for QPR in August last year and earned his first senior international cap that November. Victory for QPR will keep them firmly in the Championship play-off hunt. This season’s play-offs have been expanded from four teams to six , meaning eighth place will be enough for a shot at promotion come May.