Harry Kane’s first half hat-trick for Tottenham Hotspur against Stoke City this afternoon was the 25th first half treble in the Premier League, and the first by a Tottenham player. This is Kane’s fourth Premier League hat-trick, but the earliest he has completed one, with the England striker sealing the match ball by the 37th minute of today’s game.

The list of the 25 Premier League (PL) first half hat-tricks omits a few expected names and includes some lesser known ones too, players and clubs alike. If you wish to try and name the 25 then try our Sporcle Quiz before clicking on the ‘Full List’ tab or reading further in this article as they will contain the answers!

It is predictable to see the names Alan Shearer and Robbie Fowler in the list, though there is no Wayne Rooney or Thierry Henry. However, surely the most obscure name on the list is Bolton’s Fredi Bobic. The German striker was on a half season loan from Borussia Dortmund and only netted a total of four PL goals, three of which came in the first 45 minutes against Ipswich in 2002. Despite competing in the PL for 13 seasons, Bobic is Bolton’s only PL hat-trick scorer.

Bobic may be the player with the least total PL goals to make the list, but perhaps the most surprising inclusion is that of Jermaine Pennant. The winger was attempting to break into the Arsenal first team at the beginning of his career, when, in his first PL start, he scored his first three PL goals in an incredible 11 minute spell against Southampton in 2003. The game is also extraordinary for being the only PL match to see two players from the same team score hat-tricks, with Robert Pires also completing his only PL treble in that game. Pires had got the goalscoring at Highbury under way before Pennant got off the mark, and with less than half-an-hour of the game gone, it was 5-0 Arsenal. Pires completed his hat-trick within two minutes of the second half starting, which finished the scoring at 6-1. Pennant’s trio is also impressive as it is the third fastest to be wrapped up (26 minutes), and also the third quickest in time from the first-to-third goals (11 minutes). Having experienced one of the best full PL debuts, Pennant failed to live up to the early promise and a number of off the field problems contributed that match being one of only two starts he made for Arsenal. Despite playing for five other PL teams on and off for the next ten years, amazingly the three goals from 2002/03 remain his most prolific goalscoring season (joint with his 2010/11 campaign with Stoke).

Whilst Southampton were on the wrong end of a 6-1 at the hands of Pennant and Pires, they were the 6-1 victors in another match featuring one of the most memorable first half PL hat-tricks. Sadio Mane’s 2015 treble came in just two minutes and 56 seconds and is an overall PL record, pipping Robbie Fowler’s 1994 effort against Arsenal by over a minute-and-a-half. Mane had the match ball sewn up before 16 minutes were on the clock at St Mary’s – another fastest. All but two of the entries have come at the hat-trick hero’s home ground; Chris Sutton’s three for Blackburn at Villa Park, and Michael Owen’s treble for Liverpool at St James’ Park, being the only cases where the home crowd have been stunned before their half time pies.

After the goal fests in the first half, it is perhaps surprising to note that only three players have added to their tallies in the second half. Alan Shearer’s first half trio are joined by two second half goals as he netted a joint PL record five goals in an 8-0 rout for Newcastle against to be relegated Sheffield Wednesday in 1999. Yakubu and Luis Suarez are the only other players to get a second half goal following their first 45 treble, both getting four overall in 5-1 wins.

Andrew Cole (for Newcastle and Manchester United) and Michael Owen (for Liverpool) are the only players to achieve two first half PL hat-tricks. Liverpool and Arsenal are the clubs with the most (four each), whilst surprisingly there is no Chelsea or Everton player to achieve the feat. Bradford are probably the most unlikely team to provide a name on the list, with Dean Windass having claim to the only case out of the 25 where he was not on the winning side. Bradford were already two down against Derby in 2000, before Windass got amongst the goals, which were only good enough for Bradford to claim a 4-4 draw.

There were two first half hat-tricks in less than a week in 2001 – Dwight Yorke showed Arsenal how it was done as United defeated the Gunners 6-1, and Sylvain Wiltord followed Yorke’s example the following weekend, as he scored all the goals before the interval for Arsenal against West Ham. In contrast there was a near seven year drought from Yakubu’s hat-trick for Portsmouth at the end of the 2003/04 season and Carlos Tevez’s for Manchester City in February 2011. With the PL in it’s 25th season since it’s inauguration in 1992, Kane’s hat-trick keeps up the average of one first half hat-trick a season.

With Kane looking set to chalk up twenty goals for the third consecutive season, and at just 23 years old, don’t be surprised to see Harry Kane’s name again in the next 25 first half hat-trick scorers in the Premier League.