Steven Fletcher thanked Scotland manager Gordon Strachan for standing by him after he ended his goal drought with a hat-trick against Gibraltar . Fletcher had only scored one goal in 19 internationals before hitting a treble in Scotland 's 6-1 European Championship qualifying win at Hampden . And he has also been suffering at club level , having not scored for Sunderland since hitting two against Crystal Palace on November 3 . Steven Fletcher ( right ) curls the ball around the Gibraltar defence to net his third goal of the game . Gibraltar goalkeeper Jamie Robba dives to his right but is unable to stop the ball hitting the back of the net . Steven Fletcher celebrates after having scored just one goal in 19 internationals before hitting this treble . There was speculation that Strachan might start with Jordan Rhodes against the Group D minnows but the Scotland boss maintained confidence in Fletcher . 'It meant a lot that he stuck with me , but that 's the way he is , ' Fletcher told www.uefa.com . 'The gaffer 's made a point of standing by the guys who 've got us to this position and saying that , whatever anyone else says , he knows we 're good players . I 'm delighted to have repaid a bit of that faith . ' Fletcher 's only previous international goal came in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Iceland six years ago but he is now the first Scotland player to score a hat-trick since Colin Stein hit four against Cyprus in 1969 . Fletcher headed Scotland back in front in the 29th minute after Lee Casciaro had stunned the hosts by nodding home a 19th-minute equaliser after finding space round the outside of the home side 's three-man defence . Fletcher thanked Scotland manager Gordon Strachan for standing by him after he ended his goal drought . Sunderland forward Fletcher is congratulated by his team-mates after scoring against minnows Gibraltar . The former Hibernian forward headed another in the 77th minute and curled home a low finish in the last minute as Scotland - who also scored through two Shaun Maloney penalties and a Steven Naismith strike - maintained their qualifying hopes . ' I feel my game 's about more than goals but you know as a striker that people do n't judge you on how many times you link up play , but on how many you score , ' the 28-year-old said . 'So I was conscious of the fact it had been so long . That said , my confidence genuinely has n't been dented . You just enjoy these days when they come along , and they do n't come much better than scoring a hat-trick for your country . ' I only realised after the match that I 'm the first Scottish player to do that in so long . That was a shock . I wondered if Shaun might get there first , but a few of the lads came up after my second and said : 'Go on , make sure you get the match ball ' . 'You 'd have seen from my celebrations how much the goals meant to me , especially the first . That seemed to take an age to go in . ' Fletcher was recently mocked on Twitter for buying a Lamborghini after his inconsistent form for his club .
Scotland beat hearts 2 - 1 in their European fixture on Saturday . ben Fletcher scored a hat - trick ; Scotland 's first in 46 years . Fletcher scored his first goals in international football since April 2007 . The centre forward admits he will cherish his hat - trick .