A first ever trip to Roots Hall ended in disappointment for a Truro City side beaten 4-0 by Southend United in the FA Trophy, writes Tom Howe.

The basement dwelling Tinners took a break from National League action, albeit against familiar opposition in the form of the Shrimpers, who were 1-0 winners at The TCS in domestic action back in August.

Sam Austin, who scored the only goal of that particular game, had a hand in Southend’s opener this time around as he combined with Oli Coker to set up Harry Cardwell, who broke the deadlock midway through the first half.

Jack Bridge, an unused substitute in Cornwall, doubled the hosts lead in added on time. Promising play from Truro early in the second stanza was soon nullified as Josh Walker added a third, just after the hour, and Bridge a late fourth to seal City’s fate.

The Tinners’ ranks showed seven changes from their last outing, a 3-1 defeat at Hartlepool United two weeks prior, as John Askey’s men went on the hunt for a fillip to end a run of seven matches in all competitions without a win.

Zac Bell and Max Kinsey returned to the starting line up in front of Aidan Stone, while Dan Rooney, Yassine En-Neyah and Jake Taylor took up midfield berths behind Luke Jephcott – who is without a goal since a 2-1 win over Halifax Town in mid-October.

Neither side had completed a full ninety in some 14 days, with City without a game last weekend due to progression in the FA Cup by their scheduled opponents, Wealdstone.

The Shrimpers meanwhile, saw the previous Saturday’s visit to Rochdale abandoned after 77 minutes, with Kevin Maher’s team down two goals to one at the time.

A rather one-sided first half followed a script composed by the National League standings, with promotion chasing Southend leaving bottom of the table Truro with precious little opportunity.

Coker had Stone scrambling with a fierce strike from 25 yards that whistled narrowly wide of the mark, with the visiting custodian having Kinsey to thank for not conceding moments later.

The young defender, on a season-long loan from Premier League outfit AFC Bournemouth, was in the right place at the right time to put off Cardwell, who turned the ball over Stone’s crossbar from all of three yards.

Cardwell, himself on a temporary switch from Forest Green Rovers, wasn’t to be denied a second time. Coker and Austin complemented each other neatly to set up the striker, who placed the ball confidently beyond Stone.

City reacted with their only real threat of the half – although Cole Deeming’s wayward shot did little to concern Collin Andeng Ndi – yet found themselves further behind thanks to Bridge’s fine finish virtually on the stroke of half time.

Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lirak Hasani were introduced, in place of Bell and Taylor, as Askey rolled the dice in an attempt to breath life into what was a fruitless Tinners output thus far.

The changes went some way to producing the desired outcome as those in white and red occupied far more possession and territory in the second half. However, still, they found themselves unable to break through a staunch rearguard action.

Following some fine defending of their own, Deeming found himself in another good position before shooting wide. Just as it looked like City might be building an assault on the Southend goal, it was they who dealt a telling blow, with Walker pouncing to head past Stone.

Dominic Johnson-Fisher, stretchered off midway through a 3-2 loss to Sutton United last month, made a welcome return to action late on and saw the venom taken out of an effort that deflected into the hands of Andeng Ndi.

Tyler Harvey and Connor Riley-Lowe had also stepped off the bench by the time that Bridge nudged home to complete his brace, despite the best efforts of captain for the occasion, Tom Harrison.

Tuesday’s rearranged tie against Wealdstone is next, as the Tinners look to use the game in hand they have on many of the teams around them to claw back a deficit of eight points between them and National League safety.

Match Facts

Tinners: Stone, Bell (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 45), Harrison (capt), En-Neyah, Rooney, Jephcott (Harvey, 65), Taylor (Hasani, 45), Law (Riley-Lowe, 78), Kinsey (Johnson-Fisher, 65), Donnellan, Deeming; Subs Not Used: Lavercombe, Dean

Southend United: Andeng Ndi, Ralph (capt) (Gubbins, 78), Goodliffe, Bridge (Boyes, 84), Austin, Walker (Kendall, 65), Taylor, Miley (Morton, 78), Parillon, Cardwell (Hopper, 65), Coker; Subs Not Used: Hayes, Spasov

Referee: Aji Ajibola

Attendance: 3,715 (20 away)