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Truro City took a huge step towards safety in National League South thanks to a hard-fought draw against an in-form Chippenham Town on Easter Monday, writes Tom Howe.
The hosts relied heavily on goalkeeper Will Henry, whose inspired performance featured a string of fine saves that kept a tenacious Andrew Neal at bay, with a double stop early in the second-half particularly catching the eye.
As agile as they were in attack, the visitors were rigid in defence too. Chafed by the influence of Will Dean and Tom Harrison, Chippenham were held at arm’s length until added time at the end of the second stanza when James Hamon miraculously denied Craig Fasanmade.
When Henry was eventually beaten his defence came to the rescue, with a stunning goal line clearance from James Melhado’s early effort, while Josh Hinds cannoned a shot off the post as Truro were ultimately frustrated in their quest for back-to-back wins.
“We are pretty pleased with the point but obviously we would have liked to have taken all three,” assistant manager Stewart Yetton told CHAOS Radio at the full-time whistle. “I think we edged the chances and were the slightly better side. All in all, it has been a really good Bank Holiday weekend for us. If someone offered us a point before this game we would have taken it.
“Their clearance off the line, that is some clearance. That was one of the best goalline clearances I have seen. We had a few of the better chances [at the other end] so we are a little bit disappointed that we haven’t gone on and won the game but we are not too disheartened because, like I said, it’s been a good Bank Holiday for us.
“[The mood in the camp] has always been fairly positive. We have only taken one point in a few games when we probably should have taken more. We have had games where we were losing by the odd goal and conceding late but, throughout the course of the season, if you keep playing well enough, you are going to pick up points.
“The lads have been magnificent, especially having to deal with the fact that we moved from Plymouth Parkway to Taunton – but never actually played there – and then had to move to Gloucester. That was meant to only be for a short period of time but has turned out to be a permanent move. It is testament to them, with all that traveling, to still be picking up points.”
Chippenham, who harbour outside hopes of reaching the play-offs, had won their last four outings but could count themselves rather lucky to escape with a point against a Truro City side who have lost just once in five now and beat Slough Town 3-2 on Good Friday.
Almost in spite of their off-field challenges – which have included the frustration of multiple postponements, their painfully nomadic status and even a delayed kick-off on Monday due to holiday traffic on the M5 – the White Tigers continue to defy the odds.
Their latest and likely most challenging hurdle is only just beginning, however. Their visit to Chippenham was the first of ten games in just twenty days, a bizarre turn of events that has caused much debate over player welfare and league integrity in recent weeks.
“It is a real cliché but we have to take it one game at a time,” explained Yetton, (pictured). “We are trying to get as many points on the board as we can early. How we approach it is going to be interesting. We have ideas in mind but you can’t go planning too far ahead because it is a bit false to start thinking, oh, we will do this here and there.
“It is a unique situation that neither Paul [Wotton – manager] or I have been involved in before so we are taking it game by game and seeing which players are ready to go again. There will come a point where you have to take players out to give them a rest or else they are at risk of getting injured and we don’t want to put the lads in that kind of situation.
“We are in a good moment, picking up points and the lads are feeling confident. The situation has galvanized us, having to play so far away from home and with so many games. It really is bringing out the best in some people and creates a bit of unity and a bond when you have seen each other that often.
“Where we have picked up points, we are able to feed off that positively. It is all well and good having these games now but if you don’t get points on the board, it becomes a problem. I think we have started to get our straps a little bit, just at the right time and we are really pleased with the form that the boys are in.”
Truro City ‘s recent upturn in form leaves them six points above the drop zone and leaves National League safety very much in their own hands, with fixtures against five of the teams in and around them following Thursday’s visit of Hemel Hempstead.
Despite the mammoth task ahead of them, light at the end of the tunnel continues to intensify under the club’s new Canadian ownership and with now just weeks before their fabled return to Truro, and the new sports hub at Langarth Garden Village.
“[Avoiding relegation] would mean absolutely everything,” concluded Yetton. “If and when we stay up, that will probably be an even bigger achievement than last year and actually getting promoted.
“With everything that is going on this season, it has been very difficult. The league itself is high quality. There are teams with very big budgets and some really big clubs in there, so I think it will be a very, very big achievement for us to stay up.
“Obviously we want to take National League football back to Truro, that is the plan.”
If you’d like to know more about Truro City, you can find their website here.
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