A Lirak Hasani brace was in vain as a late Kai Jennings winner saw Sutton United leave Truro City with a narrow 3-2 victory under their belts, writes Tom Howe.
The visitors looked virtually home and hosed in the early stages of the second half, with goals from Jayden Harris and Jennings giving them a healthy advantage over a City side stricken by the loss of Dom Johnson-Fisher to what appears a serious injury.
Never ones to throw in the towel, the Tinners responded in style as Hasani grabbed the game by the scruff and hauled his side level with two opportunist strikes – each assisted by Connor Riley-Lowe – that left John Askey’s men dreaming of a famous comeback win.
With the bit between their teeth, fate was to deliver a cruel blow City’s way as, virtually straight from kick off, Jennings added a second of his own to send the three points home with Sutton and, in so doing, strike a blow in the fight against relegation from the National League.
Seven days on from the disappointment of a 2-0 reverse at Braintree Town, when two goals in the dying embers resulted in late heartbreak for the travelling Tinners, Askey’s charges returned to the Truro City Stadium looking to end a run of three consecutive losses.
His starting eleven showed five changes, with Tyler Harvey returning from the off alongside Cole Deeming, who made his full debut just days after joining on a month’s loan from Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Zac Bell was back in too, as were Hasani and Johnson-Fisher – Ryan Law, Max Kinsey, Yassine En-Neyah, Luke Jephcott and Rekeil Pyke those to miss out.
City gave up the first half chance on a surprisingly mild autumn afternoon, with Shaun Donnellan called upon to head a deep Lewis Simper free-kick behind for a corner, one which was fielded well itself. Back in possession, the Tinners began to work through the gears and their supporters were treated to a first glimpse of Deeming, who arrived through the door on Wednesday.
The promising teenager showed good feet in the midfield before seeing a cross deflected into the clutches of visiting custodian Tom Reid, who came under pressure again moments later as a set piece was swung into his 18-yard-box. The U’s cleared and Osmon Foyo led their subsequent charge forward, one which was brought to an end by an inch perfect slide tackle by Dan Rooney, who matched the marauding striker stride for stride.
Chances came and went for a City side with the upper hand but there was little to seriously test Reid either side of a stinging shot from Will Dean, whose arrowed low effort was turned past the post by the scrambling shot stopper after Hasani had picked up on some defensive hesitation. Tyler Harvey came close too, shooting narrowly wide of the mark, before the game swung cruelly in the other direction.
Sutton’s best opportunity had fallen to David Ogbonna, who burst forward and shot into the side netting. Other than that, they had offered precious little going forward. Their moment came however in the dying embers of the opening stanza and amidst a rather sombre atmosphere. With Johnson-Fisher laying motionless on the turf after a seemingly innocuous coming together in the build-up, Harris went on to beat Lavercombe to break the deadlock and against the run of play, too – an all too familiar tale for the Tinners.
Johnson-Fisher stayed where he was for more than ten minutes, receiving treatment on a serious looking injury to his right leg from both sets of medical teams, before being stretched off to applause from all four corners of the ground.
Further pain was inflicted just moments into the second half as Jennings unleashed an unstoppable shot that got the better of Lavercombe and made City’s task that bit more challenging.
The Tinners showed immense spirit and rallied well, with Jephcott and Dean each coming close, before Hasani headed home Riley-Lowe’s cross to pull one back three minutes after the hour. Lavercombe needed to be on his toes at the other end and a set of fine saves helped provide the catalyst for Truro’s leveller.
As the old saying goes, if you don’t buy a ticket, you won’t win the raffle and so it seemed as Reid found Hasani’s shot from 20 yards too hot to handle, the Kosovan midfielder rewarded for trying his luck as the ball squirmed over the line with the clock showing 81.
Back on level terms, with a vociferous home crowd behind them, it seemed almost fate that City would go on and claim a famous win to reignite their National League campaign. Sutton had other ideas though, and Jennings provided the telling touch to turn home what proved to be the winner before most City fans had taken to their seats after celebrating the equaliser.
Football is a fickle game. What follows for City is the visit of West Ham under-21s – and the Premier League trophy – to the TCS on Tuesday evening for the next stage of what has been a successful first foray into the National League Cup. A confidence booster would be just what the proverbial doctor would order, ahead of next Saturday’s long trip to Hartlepool United.
Match Facts
Tinners: Lavercombe, Bell, Riley-Lowe, Dean, Rooney (Janneh, 90), Harvey, Johnson-Fisher (Jephcott, 45+10), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hasani, Donnellan, Deeming (En-Neyah, 73). Subs Not Used: Stone, Taylor, Law, Kinsey.
Sutton United: Reid, Simper, Pruti, Taylor, Ogbonna, Harris, Taylor, Ecclestone, Jannings, Foyo (Njoku, 61), Muller (Tizzard, 86). Subs Not Used: Sims, Vaz, Jones, Crichlow, Bell.
Referee: Peter Wright
Attendance: 2,089 (94)
