Wealdstone 2 Truro City 1

Wealdstone made the most of near gale force conditions to earn a richly deserved 2-1 victory over an in-form and high flying Truro City at Grosvenor Vale on Saturday.
Abobaker Eisa’s quick-fire double gave the Stones a well-earned first half advantage before substitute Tyler Harvey gave the White Tigers a late goal in an afternoon where both keepers pulled off several outstanding saves.
Bobby Wilkinson made three changes to the side from last weeks stalemate at Chippenham Town. Eddie Oshodi and Matty Whichelow returned from injury and Eisa’s form off the bench earned him a place up front. Josh Hill, Luke Williams and Dan Fitchett made way.
With strong and swirling winds from Storm Brian blowing up the pitch toward the Gun Turret End it was to be a game where the advantage would be shared in a half each as the challenging conditions dictated much of the play.
However Truro, against the wind, had the game’s first real chance; Jonathan North started his busy afternoon in the 22nd minute when he denied Cody Cooke from close range.
But the Stones took the lead on 27 minutes. Eisa chased down a long ball which Truro keeper Tom McHale tried to shield out of play by the corner flag but the eager forward robbed the keeper and swerved in an superb effort from a very tight angle into the open goal.
Eisa then doubled his tally two minutes later with a goal any weather forecaster would be proud of. Truro tried to clear before the ball looped backwards in the heavy wind and Eisa was in the right place to tap it home gleefully when the ball ran loose.
Truro then had the conditions in their favour in the second half and were denied several times by Jonathan North’s lightning reactions, denying Cooke again, his own defender Glenn Wilson, Alex Hartridge and River Allen.
The Stones also made McHale pull off several stops, he tipped over an excellent Danny Green free-kick and also thwarted both Wilson and Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick from point-blank range in a hugely entertaining passage of play for the 812 crowd.
North was eventually beaten on 81 minutes by substitute Harvey, but the Stones weathered the storm for the remainder of the game with Manager Bobby Wilkinson happy to ‘ugly manage-out’ a very tense final 10 minutes.
Both Eisa and North took the plaudits at the end of the game but boss Wilkinson praised a strong all-round performance from his side afterwards.
The Stones, now in 10th position in the National League South, now travel to Welling United next Saturday in a London derby.
WEALDSTONE: North, Oshodi, Sellers, Wilson, Day, Cox, Whichelow (Brown 69), Okimo, Hippolyte-Patrick, Green (Goodger 80), Eisa. Subs not used: Fitchett, Wellard, Hill.
Report by Chris Woods

https://www.wealdstone-fc.com/2017/posts/report-wealdstone-2-1-truro-city/

Hampton & Richmond Borough 0 Truro City 2

Debutant Dan Sweeney missed a penalty with seven minutes to go and the game finely poised at 1-0 in a frustrating afternoon for the Beavers.
Sweeney had been so impressive for the duration of the game and the miss was a disappointing end to the match for the on-loan Barnet midfielder.
Two second half goals from Truro’s Noah Keats proved to be the difference in a game that Hampton dominated for large portions.
Hampton’s long unbeaten run comes to an end but there were plenty of positives in the performance for manager Alan Dowson to take.
The 14 positions in the table that separate the sides seemed to flatter the visitors as Hampton controlled possession with Sweeney in particular looking accomplished.
A relatively entertaining first half saw Hampton on top for the majority. Chances were few and far between, but the best did fall to the home side.
Truro keeper Tom McHale was definitely the busier of the two keepers saving well from Malachi Napa early on before thwarting Sweeney in the 42nd minute.
The game really came to life in the second half as both sides increased the intensity and went in search of a winner.
Max Kretzschmar looked very lively and his interplay with Christian Jolley led to the half’s first chance, as Jolley’s goal bond shot was deflected behind for a Hampton corner.
The home side increased the pressure and went close again through Marvin Morgan as a great ball into the box by Nathan Collier resulted in a goal-mouth scramble and Morgan’s tame effort being eventually cleared.
Against the run of play, Truro took the lead.
A long throw from the left-hand-side was flicked on and landed at the feet of midfielder Noah Keats who provided the finish from eight yards out low into the left hand corner of keeper Sam Howes’ goal.
This galvanised the visitors who took more of a control of the game after their opener.
Bernard Kiernan’s introduction provided Hampton with a bit more of an attacking impetus, with his direct running causing problems for the Truro defence.
As Hampton pushed further forward for an equaliser, more space was left in behind for Truro to exploit on the counter attack.
On one particular occasion a defensive mistake by Collier allowed Cody Cooke to break through and his shot was well saved by Howes.
With seven minutes to go, lively winger Napa’s cross was handled in the area by Truro left back Connor Riley-Lowe and the referee pointed to the spot.
After what seemed like an eternity, as the referee proceeded to book both Riley-Lowe and Jamie Richards, Sweeney was allowed to take it.
Unfortunately for Beavers’ fans his low shot was saved well by Truro keeper much to the delight of the travelling Truro fans.
This knocked the stuffing out of the home side who had battled hard all game to no avail.
With the clock winding down, a long ball up the pitch was taken down and excellently finished by Keats to double his tally.
His accurate shot from outside the box nestled into the same corner as his first, leaving no chance for the Hampton keeper.
A disappointing result for the side in a match that really could have gone either way. Truro were more clinical in front of goal and benefited from Tom McHale’s great day between the sticks.
Goals: Keats (60,89)
Hampton & Richmond Borough FC:
1. Samuel Howes
2. Nathan Collier
3. Joshua Casey (C)
4. Jack Cook (replaced by Crawford 84)
5. Charlie Wassmer
6. Shaun McAuley (replaced by Kiernan 65)
7. Max Kretzschmar (replaced by Moss 72)
8. Dan Sweeney
9. Christian Jolley
10. Marvin Morgan
11. Malachi Napa
Substitutes:
12. Brendan Kiernan (on for McAuley 65)
13. Martin Brenna (GK)
14. Ryan Moss (on for Kretzschmar 72)
15. Harry Crawford (on for Cook 84)
16. Taureen Roberts
17. Enoch Soganile
18. Michael Kamara
Truro City FC:
1. Tom McHale
2. Billy Palfrey
3. Connor Riley-Lowe
4. Jamie Richards
5. Ben Gerring (C)
6. Alex Hartridge
7. Aaron Lamont
8. Noah Keats
9. Andrew Neal
10. Cody Cooke (replaced by Yetton 90)
11. River Allen (replaced by Harvey 90)
Substitutes:
12. Chris Todd
14. Stuart Yetton (on for Cooke 90)
15. Jordan Copp
16. Tyler Harvey (on for Allen 90)
17. Niall Thompson
18. Austen Booth
Attendance: 784

Truro City 1 Hampton & Richmond Borough FC 1

The unbeaten run was extended in Cornwall to 10 games as the Beavers had to accept a point in controversial circumstances at Treyew Road.In the unceasing rain, the Beavers started the brighter, and Malachi Napa's shot on 9 minutes served notice on the home support that Hampton were in no way concerned by the White Tigers winning run, keeper Tom McHale having to tip it over the bar.Hampton were just about on top as the half progressed, and just after the half hour, Bradley Hudson-Odoi latched onto the end of Marvin Morgan's pass, the shot looping onto the roof of the net.Chances were at a premium throughout the first half and Sam Howes had to be alert as he managed to keep the hosts at bay, gathering loose balls in the box on a regular basis.5 minutes before the break, Charlie Wassmer's tackle on Cody Cooke had the home support baying for blood in the shape of a red card after the defender's somewhat reckless challenge on the wet turf, but they were disappointed as the defender received only a caution.Truro had their best chance of the half right before the interval, Tyler Harvey's shot being parried by Howes, following a quick break by the White Tigers after Hampton pressure.In the early minutes of the second half, Napa's long range effort was spilled through McHale's grasp, the ball only just sliding wide of the post.On the hour, the Beavers took the lead; after a short corner routine, Josh Casey swung in a back post cross which had Cook and Wassmer queuing up to head home, Cook being the one to nod it home.This shell-shocked the crowd and Truro City had to dig into the increasingly softening pitch to try to retrieve the game.On 71 minutes, Allen pinged in a low drive that Howes could only get behind and block as the Beavers were having to defend, Wassmer and Cook having to put in massive efforts to keep the home team out.However on 78 minutes, the White Tigers were awarded what could only be called a soft decision for a penalty, Neal rather too easily falling to his knees in the crowded box after the slightest of tugs on his sleeve by Nathan Collier, which the referee deemed worthy of a spot kick.This left the red and blue shirts incensed at the perceived injustice of the decision, and after the box had been cleared, Riley-Lowe put the spot kick home, Howes not quite being able to get far enough over to reach it.Truro now had their tails up and kept pressing the Beavers defence but Cook, Wassmer and the whole team did their job manfully to make sure the Beavers departed a sodden, soggy Treyew Road with a point, and extend the unbeaten run to 10 games.

http://www.hamptonfc.net/teams/110868/match-centre/.WdokLeBkQGg.twitter

Truro City 4 AFC Sudbury 1

In reality this was probably the toughest test AFC could get, not the opposition but the sheer logistics of playing a team so far away in the west of the country. However not deterred the club did the job properly and set out on Friday morning for the long coach trip and and an overnight stay in St Austell in preparation for the game. There were however several players that could not make the coach deadline and made their way to Cornwall by car. Those supporters on the coach were augmented by a number that left Sudbury at 4.45am to make their way via car, underground and train.
Unfortunately the end result was not what everyone wanted as AFC were knocked out after taking an early lead.
The weather in Truro was not as sunny as back in Suffolk as the rain poured down. Caretaker Manager Danny Laws had to make one change to his line-up with Adam Mills suspended he brought in Mekhi McKenzie, while on the bench were four of his Academy boys along with goalkeeping coach Danny Potter.
There was almost instant success for the Bostik North side as they took a fourth minute lead. The ball was crossed in and there was Tevan Allen to head the ball down and into the Truro net.
For the next fifteen minutes or so AFC had control of the tie before the home side gradually began to get more into the game. Paul Walker in the Sudbury goal pulled a great save to deny Harvey just before the half-hour mark. The rain continued to pour down as AFC held the lead before a crowd announced as 359.
The final four minutes of the half saw fortunes change, Allen had the chance to increase AFC's lead but his lob was tipped over by keeper Tom McHale before the home side levelled. A corner was headed home by Chris Todd and at the break it was all square.
The day did not get any better for'The Yellows' after the break, as the rain continued to pour and those AFC supporters behind the goal got a drenching. Louis Blake picked up a booking before Truro got in front with an individual goal from Aaron Lamont.
Julian Smith picked up a yellow card before AFC made their first change with Blake going off and Ollie Dunlop taking over. The Cornish side however continued on the front foot with the win and rain behind them. There were fifteen minutes left when Ollie Peter took over from McKenzie and a few minutes later Callum Watson made his second AFC first team appearance taking over from Joe Claridge. Alfie Carroll became AFC’s third booking of the afternoon with ten minutes of the tie left.
Truro added a third goal through Tyler Harvey six minutes from the end of normal time and right on the ninety minute mark Steward Yetton scored a fourth.
The rain was till coming down as the final whistle went and AFC were out of the 2017/18 FA Cup. The scoreline was somewhat harsh but it will stand in the record books.

http://www.afcsudbury.com/teams/104274/match-centre/2-46265