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Regarding the squad, management, and away fans of Truro City, the gruelling 914-mile round trip to face Gateshead was a mixed blessing ultimately. The 12-hour bus journey from Cornwall in the south-west all the way up England’s spine to the north-east bore a single point and a free pint or two.

Truro drew the National League fixture two goals apiece at Gateshead International Stadium this past Saturday after holding a two-goal lead in the 54th minute, during what is becoming 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 via Adom and a 70th-minute equalizer from 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

Already this term the club undertook a journey to Carlisle resulting in a 3-0 loss covering 878 miles. Due to the team's remote location, even their nearest away game is at Yeovil Town, a roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive via the A30 to Huish Park, a 130-mile trip each direction.

Unifying Impact of Long Travels

On Saturday the first 90 Truro fans were treated to a £920 drinks tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, the complimentary beverage fund equating to £1 per mile covered. At least the players were able to break up their journey with a stop at Derby County’s training ground.

Even their Canadian chair, Eric Perez, accustomed to long-haul trips since he regularly flies seven hours from Toronto to London, understands the challenge facing the club he took over in 2023 with ambitions of “doing a Wrexham”.

All this time on the road has benefits too for the region's first pro football team, he believes. “It's certainly not a brief trip, It's an exceptionally long distance relatively,” Perez told BBC Sport. “But what that does is galvanise our side even further – the team bonds during travel, we are accustomed to journeying as a group.”

Dedicated Supporters Face Lengthy Trips

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, John Joyce, is resigned to long days of travelling yet stays devoted, despite the odd flight cancellation and wearisome train treks. He calculated the recent trip at roughly £400 in expenses and lost earnings, remarking, “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.”

Reflecting on the situation, following the Carlisle expedition: “Truro's uniqueness as a club is that the supporters get behind the team no matter what. Last term's promotion success so it was easy to get behind the players, yet the supporters rarely complain and they value the players' efforts.”