The 22-year-old scored all three goals as the Cliftonhill club beat Annan 3-1 in the first leg of the Irn-Bru Second Division play-off final to put them in pole position ahead of the return at Galabank on Sunday.

Love said: "It was the perfect night to get a hat-trick. It's the second of my professional career and I'm absolutely delighted. The third, in particular, was brilliant, because I set John Gemmell up last Saturday when we beat Queen's Park and he's been good enough to return the favour.

"The two-goal lead has set us up quite nicely, but we're still completely focused. The tie is far from over.

"We're at the finishing line, but not past the post. I was promoted when I was at Stenhouse-muir and want to have that feeling again.

"We don't fear going to Annan, even though we haven't got the best record there. They will make it tough, but we have great belief."

Manager Paul Martin took the striker off with several minutes remaining, allowing supporters to show their appreciation.

Martin said: "Robert's a great young player who is eager to learn and he has a very bright future ahead of him. We work hard with him and you can see that it is all beginning to pay off now, because he has had a great season.

"I feel a two-goal lead at this level is absolutely nothing, though, so we can't afford to sit back and relax. It will be another tough match at the weekend."