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Regarding the squad, management, and away fans of Truro City, the gruelling 914-mile round trip to Gateshead was a mixed blessing ultimately. Their lengthy coach ride from Cornwall in the south-west travelling the length of England to the north-east bore a single point plus complimentary drinks.

The team tied their National League match at 2-2 away at Gateshead on Saturday after holding a two-goal lead by the 54th minute, in what is turning out to be a campaign defined by long travels and unrelenting hauls up and down English A roads and motorways. After goals from Johnson-Fisher and Oxlade-Chamberlain, the hosts fought back through Kain Adom and, in the 70th minute, Frank 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 against Yeovil Town, around a two-and-a-half-hour schlep via the A30 to Huish Park, 130 miles each way.

Unifying Impact of Long Travels

On Saturday the initial 90 supporters to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, courtesy of the EFL sponsor, Sky Bet, with the generous free-drinks fund equating to £1 per mile covered. Fortunately, the squad could interrupt their travel with a pause at Derby's training facility.

Their chairman from Canada, 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 aiming to emulate Wrexham's success.

The extensive travel has benefits too for Cornwall’s first professional football club, in his view. “It's certainly not a brief trip, It's an exceptionally long distance relatively,” Perez told BBC Sport. However, it serves to strengthen our squad further – the team bonds during travel, we are accustomed to journeying as a group.”

Dedicated Supporters Endure Long Travels

A committed Truro follower, John Joyce, is resigned to long days of travelling yet stays devoted, despite the odd flight cancellation and exhausting rail journeys. He estimates Saturday’s trip cost him around £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, after their Carlisle odyssey: “The thing that makes Truro special as a club is that the supporters get behind the team no matter what. I know last season we were very successful made it easy to back the squad, but from what I know the fans never even moan and they appreciate what the players have done.”