Truro City players to quit after two more games unless a buyer is found - Hodges

Source: Rhod Mitchell This is Cornwall

Truro City 2 AFC Totton 3

City player-manager Lee Hodges says he and the players will only stay at Treyew Road for two more games unless a buyer is found for the club which went into administration earlier this month.

After watching his side crash out of the FA Cup, against the club City beat to win the 2007 FA Vase final, Hodges said the uncertainty over the club's future, with the players still not being paid had gone on long enough.

Truro travel to Chelmsford in Blue Square South next Saturday and then entertain Bath City on Tuesday week which could be the club's last game, at least at this level.

He said: "I said to the players in the changing room give me Saturday at Chelmsford and then Bath at home and if there is no money that's it. It's all over.

"We have two games left unless we get a buyer.

"We are not training and its showing. If we were training twice a week we would have beaten them.

"We can't' keep listening that people are interested (in buying the club) and not doing anything about it.

"Other clubs are intertested in the players but they are holding out. They want to stay and do it but say something has got to happen and quickly."

The administrators say there are interested parties but none have yet made a firm offer for the club and with the players' making a stand, time is rapidly running out.

In the second qualifying round tie itself, City were poor in the first half and were fortunate to trail just 1-0 at the break with Richard Gillespie converting Michael Gosney's cross midway through the half.

The Hampshire side had earlier missed a penalty when Gosney shot wide from the spot.

The second half began disastrously for the home side with Dave Allen lobbing Tim Sandercombe to make it 2-0 after just 36 seconds of the second period.

But a Stewart Yetton header, from a free-kick by Hodges, gave City hope and the home side svereal times threatened an equaliser before a horrible defensive mix-up allowed Gosney to head home from a Gillespie cross to make it 3-1 with seven minutes to go.

Although Ben Williams pulled a goal back in stoppage time, it came too late to matter as City missed out the chance of winning much needed £4,500 in prize money.

Now their fight is to try and just survive.