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Ranieri hails dream debut for hat-trick hero

London - Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri hailed youngster Joe Dodoo's performance after the midfielder scored a hat-trick on his debut in the 4-1 win against League One side Bury in the League Cup on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old academy product was the standout player as the Foxes ran riot over their hosts in the second-round encounter at Gigg Lane.

"I am very happy with him. He deserved to show his quality and tonight made a very good job of it," Ranieri, whose side currently sit third in the Premier League table, said.

"I watched him once with the young players and he scored three goals. I wanted to play with wingers. I put him on the right and it was a good choice. It was a fantastic performance," the manager added.

The youngster's first goal, which came in the 25th minute, was arguably the pick of the bunch.

After controlling forward Leonardo Ulloa's pass from the centre out to the right, Dodoo lifted it over Bury defender Peter Clarke and smashed an unstoppable volley over the head of goalkeeper Christian Walton and in off the bar.

Striker Andrej Kramaric adding a second and although Bury struck back after the break through Danny Mayor, Dodoo killed the game off with two low finishes in the last four minutes.

The first had a touch of fortune about it, with the player seemingly in an offside position, but the flag stayed down allowing him to slot home through a despairing Walton's legs before wheeling away in celebration.

There was no controversy about the third, however, after substitute Jeff Schlupp charged down Walton's attempted clearance and squared the ball for Dodoo to complete his hat-trick with an assured low finish.

"It's amazing. I could never have thought this was going to happen. It's an amazing day," Dodoo said after the match.

"I have to thank the manager and the players for helping me through the game.

"The manager gave me an opportunity and a lot of them just talked me through the game... but it's an amazing feeling. Really amazing," he added.

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