Truro City secured a first point away from home in the National League after an incredible late finish at Woking resulted in an entertaining 2-2 draw, writes Tom Howe.

Against the run of play, the Tinners found themselves a goal behind for much of the fixture, with a first half strike from home skipper Harry Beautyman separating the two sides.

Chance after chance went begging as City pushed for a deserved equaliser, which ultimately arrived when Will Dean struck into the roof of the net thirteen minutes from time to notch his third of the campaign.

The action wasn’t finished there however, as the two sides traded goals in the dying embers, with Zac Bell’s 87th minute strike cancelled out by Beautyman’s penalty just seconds later, meaning the points were shared.

Dan Lavercombe returned between the sticks for City in one of two changes made by manager John Askey, following Tuesday evening’s 2-0 defeat at home to Eastleigh. He deputised for Aidan Stone, who reverted to a place on the bench alongside Shaun Donnellan, whose spot in the starting eleven was occupied by Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain.

One other item of note was a return to the matchday squad for Tylor Love-Holmes, recalled from a successful loan at Plymouth Parkway 24 hours prior – his last appearance for the Tinners being a 23 minute substitute appearance in a 1-0 loss against Southend United at the Truro City Stadium on August 23rd.

Askey’s men have a burgeoning reputation for starting games at a furious pace and they were unlucky not to find themselves a goal to the good inside 60 seconds at a blustery Kingfield Stadium. Oxlade-Chamberlain, with brother Alex watching on from the stands, caused havoc with a trademark long throw that found the boot of Luke Jephcott, whose shot whistled narrowly wide of Will Jaaskelainen’s goal.

As intent as they were on opening the scoring, City’s backline needed to be alert to the threat that the Cards posed on the break, with Sam Sanders expertly executing a slide tackle inside the box to deny an advancing Olly Sanderson.

Pressure from the visiting side was relentless however, and the eyes of Oxlade-Chamberlain were the next to light up when getting himself on the end of a corner. He though was unable to keep his effort from the far post on target. Despite being in the ascendancy, City found themselves a goal down midway through the half as Beautyman, who had his pocket picked by Bell moments earlier, swept Woking ahead with a strike from inside the box.

The goal punctured the energy shown in the game up until that point and the encounter became something of a battle of attrition in the middle of the park. The one chance that did arrive went the way of City and saw Jaaskelainen, son of former Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea custodian Jussi, make a rather unorthodox save to deny Jephcott a crucial equaliser in the build-up to half time as City ended the half as they had begun it.

One thing that can’t be denied is the intent of a Tinners side that continued to create opportunities once the peel of the half time oranges had been discarded. Jaaskelainen made a miraculous stop to keep out Jephcott, with Connor Riley-Lowe’s follow up also prevented from crossing the line by a staunch rearguard action.

City, roared on by a large travelling contingent numbering nearly 200, were frustrated again as Dom Johnson-Fisher raced forward and brought another good stop out of Jaaskelainen. The rebound fell at the feet of teammate Dean, whose fierce effort was blocked on the line – somehow – by Jamie Andrews.

On came Aiden Marsh to offer further threat upfront for a City side that switched to a flat back four as Riley-Lowe left the field. In all seriousness, if they had brought a kitchen sink with them on the team bus, it would have been thrown towards the Woking goal at this stage. Multiple attempts were fielded by an overworked Cards backline that finally buckled when Dean turned home Johnson-Fisher’s delivery into the box.

As the old adage goes, a team is at its most vulnerable right after they score and it appeared true in the immediate aftermath of the equaliser, as Lavercombe was forced into two sensational saves to maintain parity and keep the home side at bay. Having weathered that particular storm, City went back on the attack and edged ahead when Bell struck a rebound past Jaaskelainen, with the ball having cannoned off the post.

Their celebrations were short-lived however, as Lavercombe was adjudged to have committed a foul in the box, prompting referee Callum Walchester to point to the spot and allow Woking the chance of an immediate reprieve. It was one they took, as Beautyman struck his penalty straight down the middle to equalise and bring to an end a breathless encounter amidst Storm Amy in Surrey

Match Facts 

Tinners: Lavercombe, Law, Sanders, Dean, Bell, Riley-Lowe (Marsh, 69), Rooney, Johnson-Fisher, Hasani, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jephcott (Kite, 90). Subs not used: Donnellan, Kinsey, Love-Holmes, Sanogo, Stone

Woking: Jääskeläinen, Richards (Osude, 67), Okoli, Tunji Akinola (Odusina, 80), Hinds, Drewe, Beautyman (capt), Andrews, Turner (Forster-Caskey, 80), Sanderson, O’Brien (Kelly, 45; Subs Not Used: Timmy Akinola, Norcott, Ward

Referee: Callum Walchester

Attendance: 2,052 (195 away)