Truro City delivered a scintillating performance, dismantling Morecambe by five goals to nil to secure a second win of the National League season, writes Tom Howe.
Captain Connor Riley-Lowe built on his fine form of late, leading from the front when scoring the game’s opening goal midway through the first-half.
An already struggling Morecambe suffered a further setback when Maldini Kacurri was shown two yellows and a subsequent red, given his marching orders by referee Aaron Bannister shortly before the break.
The Tinners expertly exploited their man advantage in the second period, with Luke Jephcott scoring twice either side of a deserved goal for an ever hard-working Dom Johnson-Fisher.
The cherry on the cake arrived in the dying embers as Aidan Marsh, who only joined City on Friday, capped a cameo appearance with a late fifth.
Manager John Askey made just the one change from Tuesday evening’s frustrating 1-0 reverse at Brackley Town, with Lirak Hasani starting in place of Yassine En-Neyah, who reverted to a place on the bench alongside new teammate Marsh, a striker who counts Barnsley and Raith Rovers among his former sides.
The Tinners asserted themselves from the very first whistle and their pressure was relentless. Johnson-Fisher and Riley-Lowe terrorised the Shrimps’ back line early on, forcing a series of clearances and setting the tone for a memorable afternoon at The TCS.
The breakthrough ultimately arrived on 24 minutes. Dean, masterminding play from the edge of the box, delivered a pinpoint cross that Riley-Lowe met at the far post to nod City ahead. It was no less than the hosts deserved and a breath of a fresh air after the anguish of recent weeks.
Morecambe’s afternoon went from bad to worse when Kacurri earned a second yellow card moments before the break for a reckless challenge on the rampaging Johnson-Fisher. Down to ten men, the visitors had no answer to the quick movement and attacking prowess of a City side growing in confidence.
It took seven minutes of the second stanza for City to make their extra man count, with Riley-Lowe again proving decisive. He skipped into the box and played in Jephcott who finished coolly. Ten minutes later, Johnson-Fisher capped a tireless shift with a poacher’s goal, stabbing home from close range.
City were purring now. Hasani was inches away from adding a stunning fourth, curling just over the bar. Jephcott had better luck however, making it four with another instinctive finish on 75 minutes, and he was inches away from a hat-trick in stoppage time, rattling the crossbar with a looping effort.
The final word came from debutant Marsh, who swept home in the seventh minute of additional to cap a five-star showing and send City into another big week of fixtures on a high.
Match Facts
Tinners: Stone, Bell (Kinsey 89), Riley-Lowe, Dean (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 89), Sanders, Rooney (Kite, 80), Johnson-Fisher (Marsh, 80), Hasani, Jephcott, Law, Donnellan (Sanogo, 89). Subs Not Used: Lavercombe, En-Neyah
Morecambe: Mair, Payne, Kacurri, Azeez (Thomas, 57), Cain, Muskwe, Aarons (Tollitt, 68), Sangare (Sesay, 45), Songo’o, Dixon-Bonner (Raikhy, 58), Nolan (Sutton, 58). Subs Not Used: Ashcroft, Panayiotou
Referee: Aaron Bannister
Attendance: 2,213 (114)
