Truro City vs Brackley Town: Match Report

Published On: 16 September 2024Last Updated: 16 September 2024By CornishStuff

Emirates FA Cup Second Qualifying Round

Truro City 0 – Brackley Town 2

Gareth Davies, Truro City Stadium, Saturday

Truro City’s FA Cup hopes were ended by Brackley Town with the National League North outfit claiming a 2-0 win.

The damage was done inside the opening 30 minutes with striker Connor Hall netting twice for the Northamptonshire outfit.

And but for an inspired performance from City custodian Dan Lavercombe, Hall could and perhaps should have claimed the matchball before half-time.

City huffed and puffed for a way back into proceedings but Lavercombe’s opposite number Jonny Maxted, was a mere spectator for long periods.

After the turnaround, Morgan Roberts had two good chances to make the game safe but a combination of Lavercombe and poor finishing came to Truro’s rescue.

📷Tavonga Kuleya of Truro City battles for the ball with Alfie Bates of Brackley Town during the Emirates FA Cup 2nd round qualifying tie match between Truro City and Brackley Town at Truro Sports Hub on 14 September 2024 Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

Photo: Tavonga Kuleya of Truro City battles for the ball with Alfie Bates of Brackley Town during the Emirates FA Cup 2nd round qualifying tie match between Truro City and Brackley Town at Truro Sports Hub on 14 September 2024 Photo Credit: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

Tinners boss John Askey made three changes to his starting line-up that was defeated 1-0 by Eastbourne Borough last time out.

Pharell Johnson made his Truro bow in place of Sam Sanders while Scott Burgess made his full debut as Yassine En-Neyah dropped to the bench.

In attack, four-goal Jaze Kabia partnered leading scorer Tyler Harvey with Dom Johnson-Fisher amongst the seven home substitutes, which included Dan Rooney for the first time this term.

Looking for a first FA Cup win for three years, City made a cagey start with the visitors keeping their powder dry too, inside the first 20 minutes.

However, the game changed when Brackley’s outstanding midfielder Tommy O’Sullivan robbed Will Dean of the ball, feeding Hall who finished well.

Hall then doubled his own personal tally and the Saints’ lead after 28 minutes when he finished off low into the box from Roberts’ cross.

A shell-shocked home side then had their first sight of goal when Dean picked up the scraps from his own corner to fire over the bar.

At the other end, Hall was twice denied by Lavercombe and winger Matt Lowe acrobatically shot wide when well placed.

Added time in the first half resulted in Truro coming close to halving the arrears, but Harvey saw his shot blocked in the six-yard box.

Just three minutes after the resumption, Roberts fired across Lavercombe’s goal when well-placed before captain Gareth Dean had a header cleared off the line by Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain.

With the hour mark approaching, City made a triple change and sacrificed a defender for more attacking might, but Brackley stood firm.

Johnson headed a Dean corner wide and Harvey could only find the arms of Maxted before substitute Scott Pollock did everything but finish after surging into the box.

The final whistle saw City’s strained relationship with the FA Cup continue whilst for Brackley, who have reached the first round proper five times since first negotiating the qualifying rounds in 2007, they go into the hat for Monday’s draw.

Truro City: Lavercombe, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Harrison (Kuleya, 57), Johnson (Johnson-Fisher, 88), Love-Holmes, Dean, Burgess (En-Neyah, 57), Palfrey (Rooney, 73), Riley-Lowe (Law, 57), Kabia, Harvey. Subs not used: Jones, Sanders.

Brackley Town: Maxted, Dean, Bates, Newton, Roberts (Pollock, 78), Lowe, Lyttle, O’Sullivan, Lilly, Craig, Hall (Cross, 90). Subs not used: Worby, Byrne.

Referee: Steve Swan

Attendance: 1,016

📷John Askey, Manager of Truro City during the Emirates FA Cup 2nd round qualifying tie match between Truro City and Brackley Town at Truro Sports Hub on 14 September 2024 Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

Photo: John Askey, Manager of Truro City during the Emirates FA Cup 2nd round qualifying tie match between Truro City and Brackley Town at Truro Sports Hub on 14 September 2024 – Photo Credit: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

John Askey’s Post Match Thoughts

Boss John Askey says that his Truro City side ‘didn’t deserve anything’ as they were bundled out of the FA Cup by Brackley Town.

The National League North outfit were comfortable victors in front of another four-figure gate at the Truro City Stadium.

Connor Hall profited on a home mistake to give the Saints a 21^st minute lead with the same player doubling the visitors’ advantage shortly after.

Home custodian Dan Lavercombe twice denied Hall before the interval with Brackley having further chances after the turnaround.

“We didn’t deserve anything today,” Askey told trurocity.co.uk. “Last week (against Eastbourne Borough) we came away feeling very hard done to, but today, the first goal was a mistake by ourselves.

“That allowed the opposition to sit behind the ball and all round, we weren’t good enough and it is a very disappointing performance.

“(Brackley) are a decent team and they have a lot of old pros who know how to see out a game. They got men behind the ball, but physically we weren’t up to it.

“I made changes from our previous game to have a look at one or two players and that didn’t help us, although it was something I had to do.

“For the players, they have to learn from performances like this because if they don’t we won’t be winning games anytime soon.”

For a third consecutive game, City failed to trouble the scorers and they rarely looked like threatening the goal of Saints gloveman Jonny Maxted either.

In the dying embers of the first half, Tyler Harvey had a shot cleared off the line but the most part, Maxted, who can count Exeter City as one of his former clubs, was a mere spectator.

So, with City keeping their powder bone dry in exiting the FA Cup at the first hurdle, was Askey concerned about his side’s scoreless run?

“It wasn’t until today because we created a lot of chances in the last two games,” the 59-year-old revealed. “We haven’t created anything against Brackley and if we continue to play like that, it will be a concern.”