English-Ghanaian forward Daniel Adu-Adjei scored a first-half hat-trick as HNK Rijeka beat NK Karlovac 1919 4-1 in the Croatian Cup round of 16 on October 20.

Adu-Adjei opened the scoring in the 14th minute from Tiago Dantas’ assist, added a second in the 23rd minute after Ante Oreč’s pass, and completed his treble in the 41st minute from Branko Pavić’s delivery.

Luka Kapulica pulled one back for Karlovac in the 76th minute, but Mohammad Mohebi restored Rijeka’s three-goal cushion five minutes later with an assist from Amer Gojak.

Adu-Adjei was named the fans’ player of the match, earning 77% of the vote. He was replaced by Ante Matej Jurić in the 83rd minute after an outstanding attacking display.

HNK Rijeka dominated possession and shots on target against NK Karlovac.

Rijeka dominated the first half, leading 3-0 at the break, and comfortably progressed to the next round. HNK Rijeka will play Dinamo in the HNL on October 27th.