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For the squad, management, and away fans of Truro City, the gruelling 914-mile round trip to Gateshead was a mixed blessing in the end. The 12-hour bus journey starting in south-west Cornwall travelling the length of England to the north-east region yielded one league point plus complimentary drinks.

Truro drew the National League fixture at 2-2 at Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday having led 2-0 by the 54th minute, in what is turning out to be a campaign defined by long travels and tireless road trips up and down English A roads and motorways. After goals from Dominic Johnson-Fisher and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gateshead rebounded via Adom and a 70th-minute equalizer from Nouble.

“Opposition teams visiting us often fly in and stay overnight, making our coach travel less than ideal, yet with our extensive schedule, it’s our only option.” — the team's manager

Earlier in the season the club undertook a journey to Carlisle resulting in a 3-0 loss that clocked up 878 miles. Due to the team's remote location, 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 were treated to a £920 drinks tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, the complimentary beverage fund representing £1 for every mile travelled. 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 as he frequently 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 also brings advantages for Cornwall’s first professional football club, he believes. “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 – everybody spends time together, we are accustomed to journeying as a group.”

Loyal Fans Endure Long Trips

One of Truro’s stalwart supporters, John Joyce, accepts the reality of extended travel but remains committed, despite the odd flight cancellation and wearisome train treks. He estimates Saturday’s trip cost him around £400 in costs and missed income, noting, “During my naval career with Nato, the drive from Brussels to Cornwall was shorter than from Cornwall to Gateshead.”

As Askey said, after their Carlisle odyssey: “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, but from what I know the fans never even moan and they appreciate what the players have done.”