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Regarding 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 from Cornwall in the south-west travelling the length of England to the north-east region bore a single point and a free pint or two.

The team tied their National League match two goals apiece away at Gateshead this past Saturday having led 2-0 by the 54th minute, during what is becoming a season of epic train journeys and unrelenting hauls across England's highways. Following strikes by Dominic Johnson-Fisher and Christian 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.” — the team's manager

Already this term Truro have made a trek to Carlisle resulting in a 3-0 loss covering 878 miles. Such is the club’s relative isolation, their shortest away match is against Yeovil Town, a roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive via the A30 to Huish Park, a 130-mile trip each direction.

Unifying Impact of Long Travels

During the matchday the initial 90 supporters to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, courtesy of the EFL sponsor, Sky Bet, the complimentary beverage fund equating to £1 per mile covered. At least the players were able to break up their journey with a stop at Derby County’s training ground.

Even their Canadian chair, Eric Perez, accustomed to long-haul trips as he frequently flies seven hours from Toronto to London, understands the challenge facing the club he took over in 2023 with ambitions of “doing a Wrexham”.

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 an exceptionally long distance relatively,” Perez told BBC Sport. “But what that does is galvanise our side even further – the team bonds during travel, we are accustomed to journeying as a group.”

Loyal Supporters Face Long Trips

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, John Joyce, accepts the reality of extended travel but remains committed, notwithstanding occasional flight issues and exhausting rail journeys. He estimates Saturday’s trip cost him around £400 in expenses and lost earnings, remarking, “During my naval career with Nato, the drive from Brussels to Cornwall was shorter than from Cornwall to Gateshead.”

As Askey said, following the Carlisle expedition: “The thing that makes Truro special as a club lies in the fans' unwavering support regardless of circumstances. 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.”