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For the players, staff, and travelling supporters 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 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 away at Gateshead on Saturday after holding a two-goal lead in the 54th minute, in what is turning out to be a season of epic train journeys and tireless road trips across England's highways. After goals from 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.” — the team's manager

Earlier in the season Truro have made a trek to Carlisle resulting in a 3-0 loss that clocked up 878 miles. Due to the team's remote location, their shortest away match is against Yeovil Town, a roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive along the A30 to Huish Park, a 130-mile trip each direction.

Galvanising Impact of Long Travels

On Saturday the first 90 Truro fans to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, courtesy of the EFL sponsor, Sky Bet, with the generous free-drinks fund representing £1 for every mile travelled. 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 as he frequently flies seven hours long-haul from Toronto to London, recognizes the difficulties facing the club he took over in 2023 with ambitions of “doing a Wrexham”.

The extensive travel has benefits too for Cornwall’s first professional football club, he believes. “I’m not going to say it’s a short journey, It’s a ridiculously long journey in context,” Perez told BBC Sport. “But what that does is galvanise our side even further – the team bonds during travel, we’re used to travelling together.”

Dedicated Supporters Face Lengthy Travels

A committed Truro follower, John Joyce, is resigned to long days of travelling but remains committed, notwithstanding occasional flight issues 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.”

Reflecting on the situation, following the Carlisle expedition: “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, yet the supporters rarely complain and they appreciate what the players have done.”