Truro City vs Braintree Town – Match Report

Enterprise National League

Tom Howe, Truro City Stadium, Saturday

Truro City 2 – Braintree Town 3

Aidan Francis-Clarke scored five minutes into second half stoppage time to see Braintree Town to a narrow 3-2 win at Truro City.

Experienced striker John Akinde gave the Iron a seventh minute lead to strike the first blow in what was a crucial afternoon for both sides in their respective battles against relegation from the National League.

The Tinners turned the game on its head however, with Freddie Issaka equalising on the cusp of half-time, before an own goal put City in front shortly after the hour. 

Back came Braintree though, with Francis-Clarke diverting a header past Aidan Stone ten minutes from the end prior to his match-winning touch deep in added time.

Luke Jephcott was rewarded for scoring from the bench in Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Eastleigh with a place in the starting XI, at the expense of an injured Lirak Hasani, in the only change made by manager John Askey.

The early signs were good, as Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain masterminded a series of attacks using his trademark long throws to disrupt the Iron’s backline. Caleb Roberts joined his Plymouth Argyle teammate Issaka in having half–chances but without seriously testing visiting custodian Mason Terry.

Football is a fickle game and so it was that the tide turned almost immediately, with Akinde poking the ball past Stone to open the scoring inside ten minutes; City then forced into immediate defensive duty to prevent a quickfire second through Taylon Harris.

Composure restored, back came the Tinners through lively loanee Issaka, who forced a fingertip save from Terry while Connor Riley-Lowe drove a free-kick into the midriff of the relieved incumbent and George Cooper nodded over.

📷Dejection for Truro City players after goal celebrations for Aidan Francis-Clarke of Braintree Town as he heads the ball into the net with his scecond and winning goal in the 95th minute of extra time during the National League match between Truro City and Braintree Town at Truro Sports Hub Stadium, Truro on 28 February 2026 (Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK)

Amidst all the chances, it was Issaka who offered the largest threat and the teenager was rewarded with a first goal in City colours when popping up inside the box to guide the ball past a despairing Terry in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.

Roberts, who belied his own tender years with what appeared to be the freedom of the middle third, could have broken his own Tinners duck when twisting and turning on the edge of the box, only to miscue his strike completely with what was the first chance of the second stanza.

As the Iron tired in the face of wave after wave of City forays forward, they began giving up possession more readily and their errors in judgement afforded the Tinners a number of opportunities to go in front.

Riley-Lowe had a dangerous cross cut out and Oxlade-Chamberlain missed the target but it seemed only a matter of time before the pressure would finally tell, and that it did with Ben Drake turning Harry Charlsley’s low pass into his own net.

At this stage, you may have been forgiven for thinking the game was only going one way but the Iron threw bodies forward and, after Stone had moments earlier saved well from Lewis Walker, Francis-Clarke rose highest to divert a cross past him.

Tyler Harvey duly shot City’s final attempt into the side netting. Fine margins meant, moments after being the width of the post away from winning it, the Tinners were in fact losing it when Francis-Clarke turned home a loose ball, leaving Truro 12 points adrift with as many games to play.

Tinners: Stone, Riley-Lowe (Bell, 83), Dean, Harvey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jephcott (Pyke, 83), Roberts, Issaka (Law, 68), Donnellan (Harrison, 83), Charsley, Cooper; Subs not used: Lavercombe, Stretton, Kite.

Braintree Town: Terry, Francis-Clarke, Clampin (Smith, 69), Langston, Vennings, Harris (Okunowo, 34), Akinde, Babic, Pinnington (Kamara, 69), Drake, Akande (Walker, 59); Subs not ssed: Omrore, Hadi, Dibley-Dias

Referee: Paul Johnson

Attendance: 1,758 (16 away)

📷Dejection for John Askey, Manager of Truro City after the National League match between Truro City and Braintree Town at Truro Sports Hub Stadium, Truro on 28 February 2026 (Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK)

John Askey Post Match Reaction

by Gareth Davies

Truro boss John Askey said his side conceding another stoppage time winner, to plunge further into the National League’s relegation mire after defeat to fellow strugglers Braintree Town, was ‘ludicrous’.

After falling behind early on to John Akinde’s seventh minute strike, City had the better of the opening stanza, despite looking shaky at the back with Braintree unable to increase their lead.

Visiting custodian Mason Terry, who scored when the two teams met in Cornwall last month in the National League Cup, denied Freddie Issaka with a fine fingertip save.

The Plymouth Argyle starlet, on loan to the club that resides in the city of his birth, missed the target when well placed before finally finding the mark in first half stoppage time.

The game seemed to be swinging in Truro’s favour when Ben Drake turned Harry Charsley’s cross past Terry with 24 minutes left. But Braintree and Aidan Francis Clarke specifically levelled in the 80th minute before winning the match in the fifth minute of time added on.

“We haven’t done our jobs properly and we haven’t come under loads of pressure,” Askey  said at full-time. “The last goal, we gave the ball away cheaply in their half which led to a corner kick and from that corner kick we haven’t dealt with.

“For (the conceding of late goals) to keep happening is ludicrous really as we can’t see the game out to even get a draw, when the reality is we should have seen the game out to get a win.

“If we could have done something to stop conceding late goals we would have done it by now. We’ve talked about things, replicated things in training but ultimately it comes down to the players and their decision making.

“For the majority of the game we’ve done well even though we defended poorly in the first half. In terms of the game overall, it was a similar story to that seen in the past few matches.”

Before Akinde’s opener, the veteran striker should have done better when in on goal but couldn’t find the target. Luton loanee Taylan Harris then fired over when well placed as Braintree were on top in the opening exchanges.

City and Caleb Roberts – who like Issaka is also on loan from Argyle – grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck and the hosts built a head of steam which resulted in Issaka leveling with a smart low finish.

After the interval, Truro, buoyed by their late first half goal, created several half chances while at the other end, goalkeeper Aidan Stone was untroubled.

Truro, down on luck in recent weeks having been defeated late on at both Halifax and Eastleigh, thought their fortunes had changed when Drake turned the ball into his own net.

However, Francis-Clarke glanced home the equaliser and with City wary of the fact they had already conceded 12 times in the final 10 minutes this term, it became unlucky number 13 when Drake’s corner was met by the visiting right-back.

“I thought the mentality and belief we showed at the end was unbelievable,” enthused Iron boss Steve Pitt.”We deserved to win the game because we were the better side and it didn’t matter how we did it.

“I have told the players that between minute one to minute 95, it does not matter what happens, as long as you get there and win the game of football. Our season is alive and we have to build on it.”

📷Goal celebrations for Freddie Issaka of Truro City to level the score and making it his firs goal for Truro during the National League match between Truro City and Braintree Town at Truro Sports Hub Stadium, Truro on 28 February 2026 (Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK)