2. Bundesliga: Hat-trick hero Futkeu shines in Fürth’s massive win over out-of-form Darmstadt | OneFootball

Noel Futkeu stars in Greuther Fürth’s big win over promotion hopefuls Darmstadt. The result saw Heiko Vogel’s side climb to 14th place, which is their joint highest position since matchday eight. Darmstadt are now five points behind the promotion playoff spot with only four games left to play.

Isac Lidberg’s 15th goal of the season put the visitors ahead ten minutes before the end of first-half, but the Swede striker wasn’t the only one to reach that mark by the end of the game.  Silas Prüfrock’s poor save from Kai Klefisch’s harmless effort led to Lidberg’s finish from the rebound.

Fürth levelled the score when Patric Pfeiffer penalized for a handball inside the box. Futkeu scored against Darmstadt for the third time this season with a successful penalty-kick. Marcel Schuhen, who has been one of the best goalkeepers in 2. Bundesliga this season, saved Darmstadt twice from going behind for the first time early after the restart.

That proved decisive for a bit when Yosuke Furukawa restored Darmstadt’s lead in the 77th minute. Jan Elvedi managed to block Fraser Hornby from reaching Marco Richter’s delightful chipped pass, but the substitute reacted quickly to put Florian Kohfeldt's side in front.

However, Fürth and Futkeu were far from done. The striker netted his second after Schuhen saved his initial attempt from Felix Kraus’ delivery. Both teams had chances to win it in the final five minutes before Futkeu completed his hat-trick in injury-time.

The 23-year-old converted from Branimir Hrgota's assist for his fifth goal of the season against Darmstadt. He also tied Lidberg in the scoring chart, with the duo trailing Magdeburg's Mateusz Żukowski by just two goals. His heroics maximised Fürth’s chances of survival, while Darmstadt will hope to revive their promotion bid with a win against direct rivals Elversberg next weekend.