Truro City vs Gateshead – Match Report

Enterprise National League

Gareth Davies, Truro City Stadium, Saturday

Truro City 1 – Gateshead 2

Truro City dropped to the foot of the Enterprise National League standings after a narrow home reverse at the hands of fellow strugglers Gateshead.

With this game not starting until 5.30pm due to live DAZN television coverage, the Tinners kicked off 11 points from safety and a place lower in the table, due to Morecambe and Sutton defeating Eastleigh and Wealdstone respectively.

Owing to this, the must-win nature of the penultimate home game of February was amplified for both teams, but City started well and but for two saves from incumbent Pete Jameson, Truro would have led inside 20 minutes.

But the hosts were then hit with a sucker punch when Harry Chapman scored with a rare foray forward for Gateshead.

The deadlock broke in the 19th minute but before the half hour mark had passed, Tyler Harvey restored parity for City who before half-time, found Jameson in fine form once more, denying Charsley again.

After the break, Chapman produced a fine solo effort to put Gateshead back in front and despite Truro dominating the ball, they couldn’t muster any serious goalscoring opportunities.

As expected, the home side was much changed from that which lost in the last four of the National League Cup at Boreham Wood on Tuesday. Ryan Law, Harry Kite, Will Dean and Zac Bell were the only starters who remained, whilst Tyler Harvey and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, who both came off the bench in the second half, were restored to the starting line-up.

Aidan Stone once again donned the City gloves and a back three of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shaun Donnellan and Law would line up in front of the former Yeovil stopper.

📷Harry Charsley of Truro City has a shot at goal, but is blocked by Ben Radcliffe of Gateshead during the National League match between Truro City and Gateshead at Truro City Stadium on 21 February 2026. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

A five man midfield consisted of Bell, Charsley, Kite, Dean and captain Connor Riley-Lowe. The line would be led by Harvey and Rekeil Pyke, with the former permitted to play as his red card on Tuesday does not count towards league fixtures.

Plymouth Argyle loan duo Freddie Issaka and Caleb Roberts were both on the bench for the Tinners, with the Home Park pair watched on from the stands by Pilgrims’ director of football Derek Adams, who earlier on in the day had seen his side thrash Cardiff City 5-2.

In swirling winds and falling rain, the opening 10 minutes were cagey – as expected with so much at stake in the National League’s relegation scrap.

But slowly but surely, City settled and Donnellan found space on the edge of the box, but his goalbound effort was deflected wide for a corner.

Truro were getting real joy down their right and Bell fizzed a ball into the fabled corridor of uncertainty, which didn’t find a player in a red and black shirt.

Up to this point Jameson had not been tested, but he was called into serious action after 15 minutes as Charsley looked certain to find the bottom corner with a low effort, but the ball was kept out.

And then came the first Gateshead counter as a Truro corner was cleared and Billy Chadwick was clear with Law forcing him wide and away from goal. However, no City player was tracking the run of Chapman, who poked past Stone and the ball trickled across the line.

Goals, quite obviously, change games but apart from the scoreboard, the pattern of City dominance continued, despite falling behind.

And finally, Truro’s persistence paid off when a combination of Kite, Bell and Oxlade-Chamberlain linked-up down the right for Harvey to force home the latter’s back post cross ahead of Gateshead captain Kenton Richardson.

Parity was possibly the least City deserved and another fine Jameson save, almost a carbon copy of his first stop of the evening, denied Charsley as half-time loomed.

Gateshead would have been the happier of the two teams to see and hear referee Greg Rollason blow his half-time whistle, as they were on the ropes, but after the break they came out swinging.

Another cagey opening to the second period, just like the first, transpired until Chapman picked up the ball wide on the left and drove inside, before unleashing a fine effort past Stone from outside the box.

City introduced Dom Johnson-Fisher to try and spark a comeback but bar a Zac Bell shot which went over the bar, the hosts offered very little going forward.

And at the other end, Gateshead, with more composure on the counter, could have put gloss on the scoreline and performance in the final five minutes, with City throwing bodies forward in search of a leveller that never came.

City: Stone, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Donnellan, Law, Bell, Kite, Charsley Dean (Jephcott, 80), Riley-Lowe, (Issaka, 71), Pyke (Johnson-Fisher, 59), Harvey. Subs not used: Lavercombe, Hasani, Harrison, Roberts.

Gateshead: Jameson, Ward, Richardson, Radcliffe, Ferguson (Nicholson, 71), Butterfield (Grayson, 71), John, Bowen (Home, 85), Beck, Chapman (Anifowaose, 58), Chadwick (Amantchi, 85). Subs not used: Elliott-Wheeler, Telford.

Referee: Greg Rollason

Attendance: 2,026 (94 away)

📷Stewart Yetton, Assistant Manager of Truro City and John Askey, Manager of Truro City at half time during the National League match between Truro City and Gateshead at Truro City Stadium on 21 February 2026. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

John Askey Post Match Reaction

by Gareth Davies

Boss John Askey says his Truro City side’s 2-1 home loss against Gateshead was due to a lacklustre second half showing.

In front of the live television cameras, City started well and two saves inside the opening 20 minutes from Heed custodian Pete Jameson kept the deadlock unbroken.

But very much against the run of play, Harry Chapman opened the scoring for Gateshead before Tyler Harvey restored parity in the 27th minute.

Jameson once again came to Gateshead’s rescue before the break and shortly after the turnaround, Chapman bagged his second with a fine individual strike. City couldn’t force a leveller as they rarely threatened from thereafter and defeat leaves Askey’s troops 11 points adrift and bottom of the National League standings.

“I thought in the first half we were the better team,” he said at full-time. “Then in the second half, with the elements with us, (I thought) we would go on and win the game, if we played like we did in the first half.

“But we didn’t really come out and the two goals that we conceded were poor. In the second half we just didn’t play and even though we had more shots on target than they did, we just huffed and puffed whilst we never got going.”

“Today was one of those games that we had to win and we haven’t. All we can do is look at the game and keep going as our priority is always to get three points.

“We will go into the Eastleigh game with the sole focus of winning, but if we don’t we know what is coming.

“It will take a lot of guts and determination to turn this round but we won’t be throwing the towel in yet. We need to find a way of improving and in the first half today, we did that as we were sharp, but for whatever reason, fell away after that.”

📷Goal celebrations for Tyler Harvey of Truro City beating Pete Jameson, Goalkeeper of Gateshead during the National League match between Truro City and Gateshead at Truro City Stadium on 21 February 2026. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK