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Regarding the players, staff, and travelling supporters of Truro City, the gruelling return journey of 914 miles to face Gateshead proved bittersweet in the end. Their lengthy coach ride starting in south-west Cornwall travelling the length of England to the north-east bore a single point and a free pint or two.

Truro drew the National League fixture at 2-2 at Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday after holding a two-goal lead by the 54th minute, during what is becoming a campaign defined by long travels and tireless road trips across England's highways. 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.” — the team's manager

Earlier in the season the club undertook a journey to Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat covering 878 miles. Such is the club’s relative isolation, even their nearest away game is against 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 to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, with the generous free-drinks fund equating to £1 per mile covered. Fortunately, the squad could interrupt their travel with a stop at Derby County’s training ground.

Their chairman from Canada, Eric Perez, accustomed to long-haul trips since he regularly flies seven hours from Toronto to London, recognizes the difficulties confronting the club he acquired in 2023 with ambitions of “doing a Wrexham”.

The extensive travel also brings advantages for Cornwall’s first professional football club, he believes. “I’m not going to say it’s a short journey, It's an exceptionally long distance relatively,” Perez told BBC Sport. However, it serves to strengthen our squad further – everybody spends time together, we’re used to travelling together.”

Dedicated Supporters Endure Lengthy Travels

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, John Joyce, is resigned to long days of travelling yet stays devoted, notwithstanding occasional flight issues and wearisome train treks. He estimates Saturday’s trip cost him around £400 in costs and missed income, noting, “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.”

As Askey said, 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 so it was easy to get behind the players, but from what I know the fans never even moan and they value the players' efforts.”