Changing Track

“To be honest, I didn’t really get much sleep after the match. It was an amazing night that I will remember for the rest of my career… it was really, really special.”

Fraser Hornby is reflecting on his unexpected Everton debut in early December. The Scotland Under-19 international, signed from Northampton Town as a 14-year old, was one of five Academy graduates to be handed a first-team bow at Nicosia’s GSP Stadium as the Blues played out their final Europa League group game against Apollon Limassol.

“Unsy had told me and Broady [Nathan Broadhead, a late substitute in Cyprus] on the Tuesday that we were travelling and we’d probably be on the bench,” says Hornby, picking up the story.

“Craig Shakespeare didn’t name the team until a couple of hours before the game but I had a little idea I was starting from what we’d done in training the night before.

“I was obviously buzzing just to be there but to find out I was starting was just amazing.

“I think not knowing for sure helped me a bit because I didn’t really know what to expect and I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. By the time kick-off came around, I wasn’t really thinking too much about the occasion, so I could just play my own game.”

Hornby ultimately managed 82 minutes in Nicosia, leading the line and even going close on a couple of occasions to what would have been a dream debut goal.

Earning some first-team stripes was always the main aim when he first left his hometown Cobblers behind in 2014, though doing so as a striker was not always part of the career plan.

“For the first two years I was here I was still playing centre-midfield but then when I got to the Under-18s I started playing further forward,” explains the youngster, who was moved on to a specific development plan to convert him into a No.9 after Paul Tait and Kevin Sheedy identified him as having all the attributes to thrive in the position.