26 August 2012

City shrug off financial worries to end leaders' 100 % record

Article by Rhod Mitchell, West BritonLINK

Truro City 1 Salisbury City 1

Truro City's players again showed their remarkable ability to put the club's continuing off the field financial problems behind them as they secured a well deserved point against a Salisbury side who started the day top of the Blue Square Bet South table after two straight wins.

The very future of the Cornish club is still massively uncertain after it was revealed on Friday that Kevin Heaney had stepped down as Truro chairman.

A club statement cited "illness" but it was later disclosed that he had been declared bankrupt at Truro County Court.

But the players refused to let that affect their performance and were good value for their second point of the season, following the 3-3 midweek draw against Havant & Waterlooville.

City manager Lee Hodges named an unchanged side and Truro got off to a just the start they wanted when young striker Kieffer Moore got his first goal for the club, as he got on the end of Dan Green's cross from the right to slide the ball past Willem Puddy in the visitors' goal.

At the other end Tim Sandercombe then did well to keep out Brian Dutton's header.

However, Truro continued to create chances, with Puddy denying Adam Kelly a goal against his former club after great work by Les Afful.

City suffered a blow midway through the half when they lost influential skipper Jake Ash with concussion with City boss Lee Hodges coming on in central defence for his first appearance of the season.

James White was just wide for Salisbury, while right on half time Andy Watkins almost doubled Truro's advantage but his lob went the wrong side of the post with Puddy stranded.

In the second half it was backs against the wall stuff for Truro as the visitors piled forward in search of an equaliser.

And City's resistance finally cracked after 66 minutes when Ryan Brett followed up to score, after Sandercombe could only parry White's shot into his path.

With man of the match Arran Pugh leading the way at the back, Truro then held firm and might even have snatched their first win of the season when substitute Stewart Yetton, who made his 300th appearance for the club in midweek, headed just wide from Moore's cross.

It was a point well earned though and City will be hoping to get that elusive first win at bottom club Weston-super-Mare on Monday (3pm) and then hope to hear some good news about the club's future.

Truro City: Sandercombe; Green, Pugh, Ash (capt) (Hodges 28), Williams; Kelly, Broad, Cooke, Afful; Watkins (Yetton 57), Moore (Carne 88).
Subs (not used): Hall.

Yellow cards: Kelly, Yetton.

Salisbury City: Puddy; Udoji, Matthews (Lewis half-time), Dutton, J Clark, Brett; McPhee, Sinclair, Hart, Fitchett, White.

Subs (not used): M Clark, Baggridge, Hough, Scott.

Yellow cards: Hart, Udoji Sinclair.
Goals: Moore (7) 1-0, Brett (66) 1-1.
Referee: Richard Hulme (Radstock).
Crowd: 336.
Man of the match: Arran Pugh (Truro City)

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