🔗 Share this article

For the squad, management, and away fans of Truro City, the arduous return journey of 914 miles to face Gateshead was a mixed blessing ultimately. Their lengthy coach ride from Cornwall in the south-west all the way up England’s spine to the north-east bore a single point plus complimentary drinks.

The team tied the National League fixture two goals apiece at Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday after holding a two-goal lead in the 54th minute, in what is turning out to be a season of epic train journeys and tireless road trips up and down English A roads and motorways. Following strikes by 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

Earlier in the season Truro have made a trek to face Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat that clocked up 878 miles. Due to the team's remote location, even their nearest away game is against Yeovil Town, a roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive along the A30 to Huish Park, 130 miles each way.

Unifying Effect from Extended Journeys

During the matchday the initial 90 supporters to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, courtesy of the EFL sponsor, Sky Bet, the complimentary beverage fund equating to £1 per mile covered. Fortunately, the squad could interrupt their travel with a pause at Derby's training facility.

Even their Canadian chair, Eric Perez, who appreciates long-distance travel since he regularly flies seven hours from Toronto to London, understands the challenge facing the club he took over in 2023 with ambitions of “doing a Wrexham”.

The extensive travel also brings advantages for Cornwall’s first professional football club, in his view. “It's certainly not a brief trip, It’s a ridiculously long journey in context,” Perez told BBC Sport. “But what that does is galvanise our side even further – the team bonds during travel, we’re used to travelling together.”

Loyal Fans Face Lengthy Trips

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, John Joyce, accepts the reality of extended travel but remains committed, despite the odd flight cancellation and wearisome train treks. He calculated the recent trip at roughly £400 in costs and missed income, remarking, “During my naval career with Nato, the drive from Brussels to Cornwall was shorter than 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. I know last season we were very successful so it was easy to get behind the players, but from what I know the fans never even moan and they appreciate what the players have done.”