Truro City manager John Askey has been crowned Vanarama National League South Manager of the Month for April.
The Tinners created history last month by becoming the first Cornish side to win promotion to Step One, with Askey’s charges victorious in four of five matches played.
April began with a trip to fellow title contenders Worthing and City prevailed 2-1. Will Dean opened the scoring after four minutes and despite the Rebels levelling through Danny Cashman’s first half penalty, Luke Jephcott secured victory, midway through the second stanza.
Hornchurch were the side’s next opponents and despite trailing 1-0 to the Urchins at the break, a 16-minute second half hat-trick from Jaze Kabia handed the Tinners a deserved 3-1 triumph.
Good Friday saw the eagerly anticipated visit of Torquay United, who claimed cross-Tamar bragging rights with a 1-0 win. Matt Jay scored the all-important winning goal for the Gulls, who would eventually finish second before crashing out of the play-offs at home to Boreham Wood.
The penultimate game of April and as it turned out, the season as a whole, saw City travel to Weston-super-Mare, who themselves were still in the hunt for a play-off spot.
A brace of second half Tyler Harvey goals were enough for Truro to secure a 2-0 win and with Worthing only able to draw at home to Dorking, City were top heading into the final day.
And what a final day it was, too.
Truro, two goals clear of second place Torquay but level on points with the Gulls, hosted relegation haunted St Albans City.
Torquay, meanwhile, also faced Hertfordshire opposition and were on the road to Hemel Hempstead Town.
Truro raced from the traps and goals from Jephcott, Dom Johnson-Fisher and Harvey saw the side 3-0 up inside 10 minutes.
The Saints pulled a goal back before Connor Riley-Lowe restored City’s four-goal cushion.
Torquay were doing their bit and led 2-0 at St Albans meaning City were still in the driving seat with 45 minutes left.
Nerves started jangling at the TCS when Cody Cooke scored Torquay’s third before a Hemel goal restored calm.
The pendulum seemingly swung back towards the Devonnians when they led 4-1 and St Albans scored again to cut Truro’s lead to one goal.
However, substitute Rocky Neal netted a fifth for Truro late in the piece and with no further goals for Torquay, Askey had led his side to the title.
And after claiming the National League South championship, Askey joins current Yeovil boss Mark Cooper in achieving promotion from both Step Two divisions and the National League too.
