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For the players, staff, and travelling supporters from the Cornish outfit, the arduous return journey of 914 miles to Gateshead was a mixed blessing ultimately. Their lengthy coach ride starting in south-west Cornwall travelling the length of England to the north-east yielded one league point plus complimentary drinks.

Truro drew the National League fixture at 2-2 at Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday having led 2-0 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. 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.” — John Askey

Earlier in the season Truro have made a trek to face Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat that clocked up 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, 130 miles each way.

Unifying Impact of Long Travels

On Saturday the initial 90 supporters 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. 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, who appreciates long-distance travel as he frequently flies seven hours long-haul from Toronto to London, recognizes the difficulties 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, in his view. “It's certainly not a brief trip, It’s a ridiculously long journey in context,” Perez stated. However, it serves to strengthen our squad further – the team bonds during travel, we’re used to travelling together.”

Dedicated Fans Endure Long Travels

A committed Truro follower, John Joyce, accepts the reality of extended travel but remains committed, 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 lies in the fans' unwavering support regardless of circumstances. I know last season we were very successful made it easy to back the squad, but from what I know the fans never even moan and they appreciate what the players have done.”