Truro City’s three game unbeaten run came to end following a 4-0 reverse at Solihull Moors in the National League, writes Tom Howe.

Indeed, it was the first time the Tinners had been defeated in normal time in some six outings in all competitions, having lost to AFC Totton on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Following a bright start, City were dealt a double blow in the build up to half time with Irish duo Conor Wilkinson and Darius Lipsiuc scoring inside 90 seconds of each other.

Tinners defender Shaun Donnellan, another Irishman, was sent off in bizarre circumstances early in the second stanza, before ten man City conceded a further two goals late on through Emmanuel Sonupe and Sam Bowen.

Eleven days on from a 2-2 draw at Gateshead, John Askey’s charges hit the road again, with the Moors’ Damson Park their latest destination.

The starting eleven showed just the one change, with Dan Rooney in place of Yassine En-Neyah in midfield, while the returning Jake Taylor was deemed fit enough for a place on the bench.

After a tepid start to proceedings, City soon settled and saw Dom Johnson-Fisher seek out Luke Jephcott with a cross that was almost turned into his own net by home captain Jamey Osborne.

His deflection led to successive corners for a Tinners side, forced into a couple of early blocks themselves, which ultimately bore no fruit.

At the other end, Will Dean’s clearance from a throw fell at the feet of the veteran Osborne, who struck into the ground and wide of Dan Lavercombe’s goal.

Chances were beginning to come thick and fast as the two sides warmed up on a dreary night, with Wilkinson seeing an effort blocked for the Moors, while Johnson-Fisher failed to get the necessary purchase on a shot that allowed Laurie Walker to make a save.

Connor Riley-Lowe rose highest and got his head to a Moors free kick in the next attack but could only watch as the ball fell nicely for Ben Worman, who saw an effort deflect into the side netting.

Having stood strong at the back, it was City’s turn to turn the screw and what came next was the chance of the game so far. It saw Zac Bell denied by James Clarke who, with the goalkeeper beaten, was the last line of defence and made a miraculous clearance, his side mere inches from going behind.

Having so nearly gone one way, the game swung dramatically in the other direction in the seconds that followed. First, Johnson-Fisher was brought down and involved in a flashpoint that left referee Melissa Burgin with some sorting out to do. The result was Johnson-Fisher’s name being taken, alongside Osborne and Alex Whitmore for the Moors.

Then came a hammer blow as a quick fire double from the hosts put them in control of the tie, with Wilkinson and then Lipsiuc getting the better of a helpless Lavercombe.

Rekeil Pyke replaced Johnson-Fisher at the break and was is in and amongst it immediately, forcing a save out of Walker at his near post. Any flicker of momentum that City were building was, yet again, about to be extinguished however.

A remarkable set of events unfolded as Donnellan was hit by the ball in a rather delicate area. Bizarrely, the referee stopped play and waved on the City medical staff, citing a head injury, even though Donnellan, rather gingerly, had returned to his feet albeit with the wind knocked from his sails. Due to the referee calling for attention, the on-loan Livingston defender had to leave the field.

He then appeared to have been waved on by the fourth official and one of the assistant referees, so duly stepped back onto the pitch.

The game though was quickly stopped and the City man, much to the bewilderment of the sparse home crowd and 67 travelling Tinners, shown a second yellow – and subsequent red – after the referee deemed he hadn’t actually been given permission to return after all. In all the confusion, a naturally frustrated Askey was also booked by Burgin.

The sending off and raft of substitutions that ensued on both sides led to a rather fractured second half of few opportunities. Arrive though they did, with Lavercombe called into action to turn an effort from the Moors around his post at the expense of a corner to the home side.

He stood strong to deny the hosts with another fine stop in the dying embers, although that came either side of two goals from substitutes that sealed a somber evening for the Tinners, with Sonupe and Bowen inflicting further pain on a City side that had shone so vividly early on.

Match Facts

City: Lavercombe, Bell, Riley-Lowe (Sanders, 57), Dean (Taylor, 82), Rooney (Kite, 82), Johnson-Fisher (Pyke, 46), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hasani, Jephcott (Janneh, 64), Law, Donnellan. Subs not used: Stone, Kinsey.

Solihull Moors: Walker, Clarke, Osborne (Tipton, 60), Whitmore, Nicholson, Wilkinson (Stevenson, 70), Worman (Wakeling, 60), Lipsiuc (Bowen, 80), High, Sinclair (Sonupe, 70), French. Subs not used: Quinn, Rutherford.

Referee: Melissa Burgin

Attendance: 802 (67 away)