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For the squad, management, and away fans from the Cornish outfit, the arduous 914-mile round trip to face Gateshead proved bittersweet ultimately. Their lengthy coach ride from Cornwall in the south-west travelling the length of England to the north-east region yielded one league point and a free pint or two.

Truro drew their National League match at 2-2 at Gateshead International Stadium this past Saturday after holding a two-goal lead by the 54th minute, during what is becoming a season of epic train journeys and unrelenting hauls across England's highways. After goals from Johnson-Fisher and Oxlade-Chamberlain, the hosts fought back via Adom and a 70th-minute equalizer from Nouble.

“Opposition teams visiting us often fly in and stay overnight, making our coach travel less than ideal, yet with our extensive schedule, it’s our only option.” — John Askey

Earlier in the season the club undertook a journey to Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat covering 878 miles. Such is the club’s relative isolation, even their nearest away game is at Yeovil Town, around a two-and-a-half-hour schlep along the A30 to Huish Park, 130 miles each way.

Galvanising Effect from Extended Journeys

On Saturday the initial 90 supporters were treated to a £920 drinks tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, with the generous free-drinks fund equating to £1 per mile covered. At least the players were able to break up their journey with a stop at Derby County’s training ground.

Their chairman from Canada, Eric Perez, accustomed to long-haul trips since he regularly flies seven hours long-haul from Toronto to London, recognizes the difficulties facing the club he took over in 2023 with ambitions of “doing a Wrexham”.

All this time on the road also brings advantages for Cornwall’s first professional football club, he believes. “I’m not going to say it’s a short journey, It's an exceptionally long distance relatively,” Perez stated. However, it serves to strengthen our squad further – the team bonds during travel, we are accustomed to journeying as a group.”

Dedicated Fans Face Lengthy Travels

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, John Joyce, accepts the reality of extended travel but remains committed, notwithstanding occasional flight issues and exhausting rail journeys. He estimates Saturday’s trip cost him around £400 in expenses and lost earnings, remarking, “I worked for Nato in the last six years of my career in the navy, and it was a shorter drive from Brussels back to Cornwall than it is from Cornwall to Gateshead.”

As Askey said, following the Carlisle expedition: “The thing that makes Truro special as a club is that the supporters get behind the team regardless of circumstances. Last term's promotion success so it was easy to get behind the players, but from what I know the fans never even moan and they value the players' efforts.”