PARS striker Farid El Alagui got his hands on Irn-Bru's Golden Balls after his unconventional hat-trick against Queen's Park earlier this month.

The 31-year-old scored all three goals in Athletic's 2-1 Irn-Bru Cup fourth round win and his performance was voted by fans on the soft drink firm's Twitter channel as ballsy enough to win the accolade.

After putting Dunfermline 2-0 up after appearing as a half-time substitute, his unfortunate own goal set up a nervy finish but he said: “It’s always good to have a cup run and we were pleased with the win over Queen’s Park as it takes us one step closer to bringing a trophy back to East End Park.

“That was the first own goal I’ve scored in my career and the first time I’ve scored all three goals in a game too. I got a bit of stick from the lads after the game so I hope I can score another hat-trick in the next round but this time at the right end of the park. When you see the teams that are left in the cup I think we’ve got a great chance so hopefully we can manage to do that this season.”

Adrian Troy, head of marketing at Irn-Bru, said: “As the football sponsor with balls, IRN-BRU is recognised for doing things differently which is why we’re delighted to present the Golden Balls Award to Farid for giving new meaning to the idea of scoring a hat-trick and writing his name into the competition’s history books.”

Pars' quarter final match against Dundee United at East End Park will be shown live on Premier Sports on Saturday November 12, with kick-off at 12.30pm.