Truro City vs Dorking Wanderers: Match Report

Vanarama National League South

Truro City 1 Dorking Wanderers 2

Gareth Davies, Truro City Stadium, Saturday

Truro City began their National League South campaign with a narrow 2-1 loss at home to title favourites Dorking Wanderers.

But despite the result going against City, with Charlie Carter’s 48^th minute strike setting proceedings for the visitors, there was much to celebrate from a Truro perspective with the team finally playing back in the Duchy, after almost four years away.

It was a far cry from ‘home’ games which took place in Devon and Gloucester during recent times, with just a handful of fans in attendance.

Indeed, City’s last match as a home side before today, on April 18 against Weymouth, was played out in front of just 126 supporters.

But a new era beginning on the pitch with John Askey in charge, along with the opening of the new Truro City Stadium, saw 2,676 fans attend – eclipsing the attendance when City defeated Curzon Ashton at Treyew Road to reach the FA Vase final in 2007.

Photo Credit: Colin Bradbury

Even damp skies didn’t deter a near capacity crowd from descending to Langarth, but the game started in somewhat anti-climactic fashion.

Both teams entered the fray in almost identical shirts as Dorking, curiously, opted to don their third strip of orange and dark blue.

The contrast between City’s red and black ensemble was minimal and after discussion between both teams, play did begin shortly after 3.00pm.

However, one misplaced pass from Wanderers saw play halted as City’s assistant boss Stewart Yetton and Dorking chief Marc White challenged referee Stacey Pearson on her decision to allow the game to start.

After further discussions between all parties, Dorking left the field and returned with their shirts turned inside out.

Red and black now faced off against something that can only be described as off white, but it was enough to restart the game.

And City almost made a dream start when Yassine En-Neyah, making his second Truro debut, set recent loan acquisition Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain galloping free down the right-hand side.

In on goal, Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the ball low, with visiting custodian Harrison Foulkes making a fine save.

Dorking reacted well to almost going behind and striker Rhys Murphy rose well to head Seb Bowerman’s cross narrowly wide. In almost identical circumstances, another Bowerman centre was met by Jimmy Muitt, who despite fouling Sam Sanders, found the bottom corner and the goal stood.

The visitors then had penalty appeals waved away when Jason Prior was seemingly bundled over by Ben Adelsbury and from that point onwards, Truro were dominant in the first half.

Their position of ascendency was finally reflected on the scoreboard after 30 minutes when Tyler Harvey carved his name into the history books, by becoming the first Tinner to net at the new ground.

It was also Harvey’s 100^th league goal in a City shirt, as he finished in trademark fashion after Will Dean’s free-kick wasn’t cleared by Dorking.

It could have got even better for City in stoppage time as another set-piece delivery from Dean was headed millimetres wide of Foulkes’ left-hand post by Andrew Neal.

The half-time whistle appeared to come at the wrong time for City and just when it was needed for the charismatic White and his charges.

And those fears came home to roost for City just three minutes after the resumption when Carter scored in similar fashion to Harvey.

City then huffed and puffed in search of a leveller as Oxlade-Chamberlain fizzed a piledriver just over the bar before Tom Harrison headed narrowly wide.

Prior should have put the game to bed when he dragged wide from inside the six-yard box and despite this miss, and City moving to a flat back four, Dorking held on comfortably to prevail.

Photo Credit: Colin Bradbury

Truro City: Lavercombe, Sanders, Adelsbury (Kabia, 61), Harrison, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Dean, Sanogo (Kuleya, 80), En-Neyah (Love-Holmes, 71), Law (Riley-Lowe, 71), Harvey, Neal. Sub not used: Johnson-Fisher

Dorking Wanderers: Foulkes; Camp, Pybus (Moore, 80), Craig, Bowerman (Briggs, 67), Muitt (McManus, 74), Taylor, Francomb, Carter (Fuller, 90), Murphy (Rutherford, 59), Prior.

Referee: Stacey Pearson

Attendance: 2,676

John Askey’s Post Match Thoughts

Truro City boss John Askey was left with ‘mixed emotions’ after his side were defeated 2-1 at home to Dorking Wanderers.

The game, City’s first in the Duchy for close to four years, at the newly built Truro City Stadium, was settled by Charlie Carter’s 48^th minute strike.

Truro should have gone ahead early in the piece, but debutant Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain was denied by visiting custodian Harrison Foulkes.

City were made to pay as Jimmy Muitt then headed Dorking ahead before Tyler Harvey’s low finish restored parity after half an hour.

But once Dorking got their noses in front through Carter, they defended superbly and restricted Truro to just one chance of note, when Tom Harrison glanced a Will Dean free-kick just wide.

“There are mixed emotions,” Askey told trurocity.co.uk, when asked for his initial post-match thoughts. “We caused Dorking one or two problems, once we got to grips with them, after they scored.
“We created more chances first half and Tyler took his goal well which got us going. Second half you just think ‘we’ll go again’ and put them under a bit of pressure.

“But we conceded from a corner kick and we weren’t just able to create that final chance. We huffed a puffed a bit, but neither team tested either ‘keeper (in the second half).

“Supposedly (Dorking) are promotion favourites, with a huge budget, so the lads can be proud of what they did and I don’t think we can ask any more of them.

“We will improve as we go along, whilst giving us a benchmark of where we are as a football club.

“It is the first time a lot of players have played together and we can’t get too disheartened as it is early days.”

Despite the reverse, it was still a day to remember for City with a bumper attendance of 2,676 watching the game and Askey says everyone involved with bringing Truro back home should feel great pride in their efforts.

“The people who have made this happen at the football club should be very proud,” he enthused. “I’m sure there have been times when they thought it wasn’t going to happen.

“Playing last year in Gloucester, in front of hardly any supporters, the players kept going and kept the club in this league. Today is reward for everyone.”

The 59-year-old, who has won promotion at Step One and Two, with Macclesfield and York City, also had his say on the farcical start to proceedings, which saw both teams enter the fray in virtually identical kits.

Curiously, Dorking opted to wear their orange and dark blue strip, which clashed with City’s home ensemble of red and black.

Referee Stacey Pearson did allow play to start but after three minutes, with both Askey and his opposite number Marc White voicing their concerns, play was stopped.

Dorking left the field and returned with their shirts turned inside out, with play then getting back underway.

“I’ve never seen it happen, in all my time in football,” Askey revealed. “For the referee to allow a team to walk on the pitch in virtually the same colours as we were (wearing) is just crazy.

“Everybody was getting behind the players and all of a sudden, because of what happened nobody knew what was going on and it went flat, killing the atmosphere for 10 to 15 minutes at the start of the game.

“It was disappointing, but out of the hands of anyone connected with Truro City, even if it was farcical.”

Photo Credit: Colin Bradbury