Truro City went down to a single goal reverse at home to last year’s beaten play-off finalists Southend United, writes Tom Howe.
The Shrimpers, more familiar to the Football League than that of the National, scored the only goal of the game three minutes after the hour as Sam Austin finally broke through the Tinners rearguard.
In front of a crowd yet again topping the 3000 mark, John Askey’s charges took the game to their opponents and w’re unlucky not to score through Yassine En-Neyah, Dom Johnson-Fisher and Jake Taylor.
It was another mark of progression for a City side making their bow at this level and one that drew praise from the visiting ranks, impressed by their visit to Cornwall.
Askey made four changes to the City team that started Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat at Tamworth, with each of that evening’s used substitutes starting from the off on this occasion.
That meant Ryan Law, Yassine En-Neyah, Rekeil Pyke and Dom Johnson-Fisher coming in for Ben Starkie, Jake Taylor, Luke Jephcott and club captain Connor Riley-Lowe, who reverted to a place on the bench alongside the returning Tyler Harvey.
An action-packed opening stanza set the tone for a competitive encounter, with the Shrimpers carving out the first clear cut opportunity – a header from Gus Scott-Morriss that was cleared off the line admirably by the ever-alert Zac Bell.
Almost immediately, the Tinners found themselves with a chance of their own at the other end of the park, as the pacey Johnson-Fisher raced down the right and found Law on the edge of the box. His subsequent shot was deflected wide.
Buoyed by their earlier foray forward, back came City for another shot at a Southend side yet to concede this term. Lirak Hasani had the crowd on his feet with a ninth-minute lobbed ball into the path of En-Neyah, who shot across Colin Andeng-Ndi’s goal and inches wide of the far post.
The away side wrestled back some of the ascendency and turned up the heat at an already sweltering TCS but the Tinners defence, led by Sam Sanders, held firm, while the home high line paid dividends in catching Gus Scott-Morriss offside – the first of nine times the Shrimpers were pulled back for such an offense.
The next chance during the first 45 then fell to those in red and black. Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain’s trademark long throw was headed back whence it came, allowing City’s number 12 the chance to whip a cross into the back post that ended up in the grateful grasp of Andeng-Ndi.
The pace and creativity inhabited by Johnson-Fisher, as so often happens, proved difficult to manage for a Shrimpers backline that, ultimately, just about dealt with him. He saw the ball stolen away as he shaped to shoot on the edge of the box, before arrowing a second strike narrowly over the bar.
The half-time oranges came and went although not before a booking for En-Neyah, while Bell received a final warning for a foul in the minutes that followed the restart.
Further frustration ensued as first Johnson-Fisher and then his manager, Askey, also had their names taken by referee Sam Mulhall.
The tone changed shortly after the hour mark with two golden opportunities for Southend that each ended with the ball in the back of the net, Austin’s drive from inside the box counting after Hopper’s header had been ruled out by the merry flagwaver.
Askey responded straight away, throwing Harvey and Taylor into the fray, as well as Tylor Love-Holmes, but the Shrimpers’ tails were up and they continued to press forward, forcing Lavercombe into a stop at full stretch with a well struck free-kick from Scott-Morriss.
Askey introduced further fresh faces, in the shape of Starkie and Jephcott, and his changes almost had the desired effect, the stadium holding their breath as Taylor’s corner bounced off of Andeng-Ndi’s crossbar.
The move resulted in another flag kick, again delivered by Taylor, which a high rising Oxlade-Chamberlain headed just off target in front of the East Stand.
That, however, was the closest City would come to taking something from another game of fine margins at Step One.
Truro City: Lavercombe, Bell (Love-Holmes, 68), Dean, Sanders, En-Neyah (Jephcott, 82), Rooney, Johnson-Fisher (Starkie, 73), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hasani (Taylor, 68), Pyke (Harvey, 68), Law; Subs Not Used: Stone, Riley-Lowe.
Southend United: Andeng-Ndi, Scott-Morriss, Goodliffe, Husin (Morton, 64), Dallas (Spasov, 81), Austin (Appiah-Forson, 86), Hopper (Kendall 64), Gubbins, Taylor, Coker (Parillon, 64), Boyes; Subs Not Used: Hayes, Bridge.
Referee: Sam Mulhall
Attendance: 3,067
