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Regarding the squad, management, and away fans of Truro City, the gruelling return journey of 914 miles to face Gateshead proved bittersweet ultimately. The 12-hour bus journey starting in south-west Cornwall all the way up England’s spine to the north-east region bore a single point and a free pint or two.

The team tied their National League match at 2-2 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 up and down English A roads and motorways. After goals from Johnson-Fisher and Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gateshead rebounded 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 Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat covering 878 miles. Due to the team's remote location, their shortest away match is at Yeovil Town, a roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive via the A30 to Huish Park, 130 miles each way.

Galvanising Effect of Long Travels

On Saturday the initial 90 supporters were treated to a £920 drinks tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, with the generous free-drinks fund representing £1 for every mile travelled. 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 long-haul from Toronto to London, understands the challenge facing the club he took over in 2023 with ambitions of “doing a Wrexham”.

The extensive travel has benefits too for Cornwall’s first professional football club, he believes. “It's certainly not a brief trip, It's an exceptionally long distance relatively,” Perez told BBC Sport. However, it serves to strengthen our squad further – the team bonds during travel, we’re used to travelling together.”

Loyal Supporters Endure Long Travels

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, 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, “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, following the Carlisle expedition: “Truro's uniqueness 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 value the players' efforts.”