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Regarding the players, staff, and travelling supporters of Truro City, the arduous return journey of 914 miles to face Gateshead was a mixed blessing ultimately. The 12-hour bus journey from Cornwall in the south-west travelling the length of England to the north-east yielded one league point and a free pint or two.

The team tied their National League match at 2-2 away at Gateshead 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 tireless road trips up and down English A roads and motorways. After goals from Dominic Johnson-Fisher and Christian 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 the club undertook a journey to face Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat covering 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 via the A30 to Huish Park, a 130-mile trip each direction.

Unifying Effect of Long Travels

On Saturday the first 90 Truro fans to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, courtesy of the EFL sponsor, Sky Bet, with the generous free-drinks 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, accustomed to long-haul trips since he regularly 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 has benefits too for the region's first pro football team, 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’re used to travelling together.”

Loyal Supporters Face Long Travels

A committed Truro follower, John Joyce, is resigned to long days of travelling yet stays devoted, notwithstanding occasional flight issues and wearisome train treks. 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, following the Carlisle expedition: “Truro's uniqueness as a club lies in the fans' unwavering support no matter what. Last term's promotion success so it was easy to get behind the players, yet the supporters rarely complain and they appreciate what the players have done.”