🔗 Share this article

For the players, staff, and travelling supporters from the Cornish outfit, the gruelling return journey of 914 miles to face Gateshead was a mixed blessing ultimately. The 12-hour bus journey starting in south-west Cornwall all the way up England’s spine to the north-east yielded one league point plus complimentary drinks.

Truro drew the National League fixture 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 tireless road trips up and down English A roads and motorways. After goals from Johnson-Fisher and Oxlade-Chamberlain, the hosts fought back via Adom and a 70th-minute equalizer from 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 Truro have made a trek to Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat covering 878 miles. Due to the team's remote location, 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.

Galvanising Impact of Long Travels

On Saturday the first 90 Truro fans to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, courtesy of the EFL sponsor, Sky Bet, the complimentary beverage fund representing £1 for every mile travelled. 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 since he regularly flies seven hours long-haul from Toronto to London, understands the challenge confronting the club he acquired in 2023 aiming to emulate Wrexham's success.

The extensive travel 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 told BBC Sport. “But what that does is galvanise our side even further – the team bonds during travel, we’re used to travelling together.”

Dedicated Fans Endure Lengthy Travels

A committed Truro follower, John Joyce, accepts the reality of extended travel yet stays devoted, despite the odd flight cancellation and exhausting rail journeys. He estimates Saturday’s trip cost him around £400 in costs and missed income, noting, “During my naval career with Nato, the drive from Brussels to Cornwall was shorter than from Cornwall to Gateshead.”

Reflecting on the situation, following the Carlisle expedition: “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, yet the supporters rarely complain and they appreciate what the players have done.”