Truro City sealed a spot in round two of the National League Cup despite a 3-0 reverse against a slick West Ham United under-21s, writes Tom Howe.
It was apparent from early on in proceedings that this would be the unbeaten Tinners toughest test in the competition to date, and the Hammers duly delivered a double blow in the first-half with goals from George Earthy and Callum Marshall.
A second half shake up served City better and the visitors were indebted to inspired goalkeeper Krisztian Hegyi, who kept his sheet clean with a string of excellent saves that drew applause from both sets of supporters
Truro huffed and puffed but were ultimately unable to blow down the house of a West Ham side that put the cherry on top of an impressive evening when Mohamadou Kante added a late third. Other results however, mean City’s progress in the competition is now confirmed.
The opportunity to get minutes into players was one not passed up by City boss John Askey, who made eight changes to the team that started Saturday’s 3-2 domestic defeat at home to Sutton United – their Group C counterparts and last year’s beaten finalists in the National League Cup.
In came Aidan Stone, Yassine En-Neyah, Luke Jephcott, Ryan Law, Tylor Love-Holmes, Aiden Marsh and Jake Taylor, while returning centre half Tom Harrison was rewarded with the captain’s armband.
The Tinners’ high press nearly caught out the young visitors early on, with En-Neyah turning over possession well up the pitch and delivering a drive that was deflected wide for a corner.
A Hammers head reached the flag kick first and set up a swift break, one that resulted in the opening goal of the evening as Earthy ran virtually the length of the pitch before getting the better of Stone with 15 minutes showing on the scoreboard.
The teams traded chances in the moments that followed, with Stone keeping out Earthy the second time round while Cole Deeming, continuing his impressive start to life as a Tinner, whistled a first time effort narrowly wide of Hegyi’s goal.
The attacking intent shown by both sides meant there were destined to be further goals in this tie and so it was, although not in the stylish fashion the two outfits had displayed in the opening stages.
It arrived by virtue of a slip at the back by Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, which allowed two West Ham attackers to bear down on Harrison and Stone, one of whom was Marshall, who kept his head to finish coolly.
Stone, who was powerless to keep out a quick fire double from the electric visiting side, was called upon again to deny Kante with City’s openings restricted to a Deeming corner that caused Hegyi a headache before being scrambled clear.
Frustrated in their quest to retrieve a stranglehold, the Tinners incurred the wrath of referee Harrison Blair when Taylor brought down Earthy and was shown the evening’s first yellow card, at the end of a first half which later saw Rayan Oyebade shoot over Stone’s crossbar and Love-Holmes head wide – unaware of the linesman’s flag.
Three fresh faces were amongst the City ranks from the restart, as Harry Kite, Will Dean and Saikou Janneh entered the fray in place of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Deeming and Jephcott.
They provided fresh impetus on a breezy autumnal evening as first Marsh stung the gloves of Hegyi, while Dean collected a Harrison flick on before bringing a stunning reaction save out of the Hungarian custodian.
Janneh, still hunting for his maiden City goal, was next to try his luck but Hegyi remained unmoved on this occasion, with the Gambian only able to find the side netting.
The energy began to sap from both sides, as did any gilt-edge chances, during a spell that was notable for a yellow card brandished in the direction of Kite and the introduction of Billy Palfrey for only his second appearance of the campaign.
Soon though, the Hegyi show continued as Love-Holmes rose highest to meet Dean’s cross, forcing a superb save which was bettered moments later as the 23-year-old denied City a route back into the tie with a point blank stop.
The energy behind City’s best spell of the encounter waned as the Hammers dealt the straw to break the camel’s back, with Kante finishing off another swift counter to score a late third and seal all three points.
With the top two teams in each group progressing to the knockout stage, tonight’s set of results leave the Tinners facing an anxious wait to learn their fate, with group winners being seeded in round two and runners-up unseeded.
Brighton’s 1-1 draw at Woking – a result that sparked a penalty shootout, won by the latter – leaves them out of contention. The Hammers’ triumph, meanwhile, moves them within a point of leaders Truro and with a game in hand, against Aldershot on December 9.
Regardless, the Tinners, making their first foray into the National League this season, can rest assured that their name is in the hat with the competition set to continue after Christmas.
Tinners: Stone, Bell, Harrison (capt), En-Neyah, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Kite, 46), Jephcott (Janneh, 46), Love-Holmes, Taylor (Palfrey, 72), Law, Marsh, Deeming (Dean, 46); Subs Not Used: Howard, Riley-Lowe, Adelsbury
West Ham United: Hegyi, Briggs, Mayers, Oyebade, Battrum (capt), Kante, Orford, Clayton, Earthy, Fearon (Ajala, 72), Marshall; Subs Not Used: Wooster, Landers, Cummings, Caliste, Brown, Medine
Referee: Harrison Blair
Attendance: 2,266
