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For the squad, management, and away fans of Truro City, the gruelling 914-mile round trip to Gateshead proved bittersweet in the end. Their lengthy coach ride starting in south-west Cornwall travelling the length of England 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, during what is becoming a campaign defined by long travels and unrelenting hauls across England's highways. 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.” — the team's manager

Earlier in the season Truro have made a trek to Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat that clocked up 878 miles. Such is the club’s relative isolation, their shortest away match is at Yeovil Town, around a two-and-a-half-hour schlep along the A30 to Huish Park, 130 miles each way.

Galvanising Effect of Long Travels

During the matchday the first 90 Truro fans were treated to a £920 drinks tab, courtesy of the EFL sponsor, 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 pause at Derby's training facility.

Their chairman from Canada, Eric Perez, accustomed to long-haul trips as he frequently 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.

All this time on the road has benefits too for Cornwall’s first professional football club, he believes. “I’m not going to say it’s a short journey, It’s a ridiculously long journey in context,” Perez stated. “But what that does is galvanise our side even further – the team bonds during travel, we are accustomed to journeying as a group.”

Loyal Fans Endure Long Trips

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, 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.”

As Askey said, after their Carlisle odyssey: “The thing that makes Truro special as a club is that the supporters get behind the team no matter what. I know last season we were very successful made it easy to back the squad, yet the supporters rarely complain and they value the players' efforts.”