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For the players, staff, and travelling supporters of Truro City, the arduous 914-mile round trip to face Gateshead proved bittersweet in the end. Their lengthy coach ride from Cornwall in the south-west all the way up England’s spine to the north-east region yielded one league point plus complimentary drinks.

Truro drew the National League fixture two goals apiece at Gateshead International Stadium this past Saturday after holding a two-goal lead by the 54th minute, in what is turning out to be a campaign defined by long travels and unrelenting hauls up and down English A roads and motorways. After goals from Johnson-Fisher and Oxlade-Chamberlain, the hosts fought back through Kain Adom and, in the 70th minute, Frank Nouble.

“Clubs that come down to us, most of them are flying down and staying over on the Friday, so for us to have to do it on the coach is not ideal, but because we have so many long journeys, that’s the way we have to do it.” — John Askey

Already this term the club undertook a journey to Carlisle resulting in a 3-0 loss covering 878 miles. Such is the club’s relative isolation, even their nearest away game is against Yeovil Town, around a two-and-a-half-hour schlep via the A30 to Huish Park, a 130-mile trip each direction.

Unifying Impact of Long Travels

On Saturday the first 90 Truro fans to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, the complimentary beverage fund equating to £1 per mile covered. Fortunately, the squad could interrupt their travel with a stop at Derby County’s training ground.

Their chairman from Canada, Eric Perez, who appreciates long-distance travel as he frequently flies seven hours from Toronto to London, recognizes the difficulties confronting the club he acquired in 2023 aiming to emulate Wrexham's success.

All this time on the road also brings advantages for the region's first pro football team, he believes. “It's certainly not a brief trip, 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.”

Loyal Supporters Face Lengthy Travels

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, John Joyce, accepts the reality of extended travel yet stays devoted, despite the odd flight cancellation and wearisome train treks. 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.”

Reflecting on the situation, after their Carlisle odyssey: “Truro's uniqueness 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.”