Scotland record-holder rescues promotion hopes in six-goal thriller but World Cup dream could be over

Winless in five games, the hosts were desperate for all three points in order to grab a place in the Bundesliga 2 playoff spots, and got off to a perfect start when Patric Pfeiffer fired them into a 15th-minute lead. Hornby then doubled the advantage just a second later, firing home his 13th goal of the season with a right-footed drive from outside the area.

Elversberg, who started the game five points ahead of Darmstadt in fourth, roared back quickly, though, and reduced the deficit on 26 minutes thanks to Tom Zimmerschied, before an outrageous 25-yard strike from Maximilian Rohr levelled the scores for the away side just ten minutes before half-time.

The game took another major turn just before the break, though, when Darmstadt's goalscorer, Pfeiffer, was shown a straight red card for denying Elversberg attacker David Mokwa a clear goalscoring opportunity when he chopped the 21-year-old down just outside of the area whilst clean through on goal. From the resulting free-kick, Lukas Petkov completed a remarkable comeback when his deflected effort found its way into the top corner of Marcel Schuhen’s net.

Florian Kohfeldt’s side refused to lie down despite their one-man disadvantage and found the leveller via Hornby shortly after the break. His flick found Isac Lidberg just outside the area, allowing the Swede to cross for the Scottish striker, who slammed home to tie the game at 3-3 in the 51st minute. Currently six points behind Hannover 96 in the playoff spot in third, with three games remaining, a defeat would have effectively quashed their hopes of promotion, meaning Hornby’s vital strike keeps their hopes of clinching third alive for one more week.

Just after the hour mark, though, Hornby fell to the floor in agony, holding what appeared to be his hamstring, before limping off the field in distress. While there has been no precise diagnosis, his head coach admitted it is “up in the stars” as to whether he’ll be fit enough to play in the final three games of the campaign, meaning any lingering hopes of being included in Clarke's 55-man preliminary squad for this summer’s tournament in North America are under serious threat.

The country’s record goalscorer at the Under-21 level, Hornby bagged ten goals in 18 appearances for Scot Gemmill’s side, and had been tipped to make the senior set-up as a youngster during his time at Everton. However, a period of nomadism led to him falling out of the spotlight, spending time on loan at Kortrijk, Aberdeen, and Oostende prior to his move to Germany in 2023.

However, after overcoming an injury-hit first few seasons with Darmstadt, the 25-year-old striker has returned to fitness and form in the German second tier, scoring 13 goals and assisting a further eight this season, with a section of Scottish fans calling on Steve Clarke to include him in the national team squad ahead of this summer’s World Cup in North America. The imposing striker admits he still harbours hopes of breaking into the Scotland set-up, and his form for Die Lilien has placed him back on the radar, with less than 50 days to go until the tournament begins.

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