🔗 Share this article

For the squad, management, and away fans from the Cornish outfit, the arduous return journey of 914 miles to 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 region yielded one league point plus complimentary drinks.

The team tied the National League fixture two goals apiece at Gateshead International Stadium this past Saturday having led 2-0 in the 54th minute, in what is turning out to be a campaign defined by long travels and tireless road trips across England's highways. After goals from Johnson-Fisher and Oxlade-Chamberlain, the hosts fought back through Kain Adom and, in the 70th minute, Frank 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

Already this term the club undertook a journey to face Carlisle resulting in a 3-0 loss that clocked up 878 miles. Due to the team's remote location, even their nearest away game is at Yeovil Town, a roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive via the A30 to Huish Park, a 130-mile trip each direction.

Unifying Effect of Long Travels

On Saturday the initial 90 supporters to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, the complimentary beverage fund representing £1 for every mile travelled. At least the players were able to break up their journey with a pause at Derby's training facility.

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 confronting the club he acquired in 2023 aiming to emulate Wrexham's success.

All this time on the road also brings advantages for Cornwall’s first professional football club, he believes. “It's certainly not a brief trip, It’s a ridiculously long journey in context,” Perez stated. “But what that does is galvanise our side even further – everybody spends time together, we are accustomed to journeying as a group.”

Dedicated Fans Face Long Trips

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, John Joyce, accepts the reality of extended travel yet stays devoted, notwithstanding occasional flight issues and exhausting rail journeys. He calculated the recent trip at roughly £400 in expenses and lost earnings, noting, “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: “The thing that makes Truro special as a club is that the supporters get behind the team no matter what. Last term's promotion success made it easy to back the squad, but from what I know the fans never even moan and they appreciate what the players have done.”