TISA Statement on Latest Stadium for Cornwall News

We are dismayed but sadly not surprised at today’s announcement by the Stadium for Cornwall partners that they need up to £6m public funding in order that the stadium can be completed by August 2019  which is necessary to secure the future of Truro City Football Club.  What is surprising is that Cornwall Council, knowing that the S4C project was precarious and that the future of TCFC depended on it, should the developers be allowed to redevelop Treyew Road, still went ahead and approved that application.

TISA lobbied the Council, asking that if they were to approve the planning application they should at the very least, place a 106 condition on Helical Retail to place the original Silver Bow budget of £4.8m into a fund ring-fenced by the Council to go towards either the S4C or in the event that this project did not proceed, towards another permanent relocation site for TCFC.

Regrettably, the Council only required Helical to pay £2m into a ring-fenced fund allowing a payment of £2m+ to be paid directly to TCFC. 

Astonishingly, within only 48 hours of the planning application being approved, TCFC’s owners effectively put the club up for sale claiming it to be a “debt free” football club.  This leaves us to believe that the £2m+ paid by Helical to TCFC has (or soon will be) used to repay the two owners the money they put into the club in the form of directors loans.

If we are correct then, as predicted and as we warned the Strategic Planning Committee, that money rather than being available to help secure the future of Truro City is now in the pockets of departing owners, leaving the Council now expected to either conjure up a new stadium for TCFC with only £2m in the pot, or fork out up to the £6m requested today, to build the Stadium for Cornwall.

The final consideration Cornwall Council has to make is regarding the section 106 condition to approve the ‘Temporary Relocation Facility Scheme’ which could effectively move TCFC out of Cornwall to Torquay United which may in so doing, be the final nail in the Truro City Football Club coffin, with a permanent home of their own in Cornwall looking like a the faintest glimmer of hope.

 

Truro Independent Supporters Association (TISA)

23/01/2018

Truro City 2 Oxford City 3

See Match Highlights Here: http://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/match-info/match-centre/1-2850759

For the second successive week, City surrendered a half-time lead at Treyew Road as their National League South play-off hopes suffered another serious blow.
They led relegation-threatened Oxford City 2-0 at half time, through goals by skipper Ben Gerring and Aaron Lamont, but then capitulated in the second period conceding three goals without reply to slump to another deeply disappointing defeat.

However, amazingly they are still in the seventh and final play-off spot, but there needs to be a massive improvement, starting with next Saturday’s trip to leaders Dartford, if their season is not to fade away.
Again City began well, taking an early lead when Gerring headed home Connor Riley Lowe’s corner at the far post.
And when Aaron Lamont made it 2-0 with an astute lob over Oxford keeper Craig King, after being put through by Tyler Harvey, they looked on course for a vital three points.
But despite trailing 2-0, Oxford were the better side in the first half and City’s lead flattered them.
The visitors created a number of openings in that first period, with substitute Zac McEachran crashing a shot against the bar and then Godfrey Poku’s follow-up effort was deflected over.
Tom McHale had to save well from Joe Oastler’s header and Riley-Lowe somehow cleared a Frankie Musunda effort off the line.
The closest Truro came to a third was when Harvey was just wide after being slipped in by fellow striker Rocky Neal.
City though as they did against Wealdstone last week at Treyew, then proceeded to fall apart after the break.
Oxford soon pulled a goal back when Austen Booth was adjudged to have fouled McEachran from behind and Matt Paterson converted the penalty.
City seemed at sixes and seven and it was soon 2-2 when the dangerous Samuel Nombe was granted far too much space to find the top corner with a terrific finish.
The home side were shell-shocked and when the normally reliable Jamie Richards disastrously slipped out on the left Nombe took full advantage to race clear and put Oxford 3-2 ahead.
The White Tigers tried to get back into the match without too much conviction, with Ben Harding heading over from a corner and substitute Noah Keats having a shot blocked the closest they came to an equaliser.
But in truth Oxford, who started the day in 17th, were worthy winners with City looking like a well beaten side at the final whistle as the rain poured down.
Truro City (3-5-2): McHale; Gerring (capt), Richards (Thompson 78), Hartridge; Palfrey, Harding, Lamont (Keats 81), Booth, Riley-Lowe; Neal, Harvey (Yetton 88).
Subs (not used): Todd, Copp.
Yellow Cards: Harding, Harvey.
Oxford City (3-4-3): King; Musunda, Oastler, Godwin-Malife; Jones, Fleet, Poku (capt), Grant; Nombe (Fofana 78), Paterson, Sinclair (McEachran).
Subs (not used): Forde.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/sport/football/match-reports/truro-city-surrender-half-time-1232280

Truro City 1 Wealdstone 3

See Match Highlights Here: http://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/match-info/match-centre/1-2850749

Wealdstone achieved a highly dramatic second-half turnaround at Treyew Road on Saturday with striker David Pratt notching a rapid-fire brace of goals to not only break his duck but also to kill off an in-form Truro City side that had looked very comfortable with a single goal lead in a scrappy first period. Stones sealed the win with another very assured Danny Green penalty.
Having made the long 300-mile trip into Cornwall on the Friday, Stones were in no mood to see the game called off due to the prevailing ‘Cornish Mist’ and Manager Bobby Wilkinson revealed after the match that he ensured he was present for the early Saturday morning pitch inspection. It appeared that the home officials wanted the game off but Wilkinson and final arbiter, Referee Samuel Allison were having none of it and the match proceeded on a soft but perfectly playable surface.
Stones opted to start the contest with a single striker up front but after a reasonable first few minutes it was apparent that this tactic was going to be hard work against a pressing White Tigers side that were finding space in the wide areas and playing three at the back.
Stones were rocked after only 5 minutes when a loose ball found Ben Harding and he lashed home past an exposed Jonathan North.
The away side’s most effective outlet, as the half progressed, was loanee Iffy Allen who teased and danced his way on the right flank but couldn’t quite make the link up with the forwards when it mattered.
City looked good value for their lead and continued to look the more positive and assured with their forward play and were winning corners as the pressure on the Stones back line increased.
Stones best chance came from a deep run from the ever-hard-working Pratt but he fired over under pressure; as the half concluded Eddie Oshodi had a header well held by keeper Tom McHale.
Whether it was the half-time Wilkinson hair dryer treatment or the change to two up front with the introduction of Dan Fitchett, Stones looked a transformed side after the turnaround.
Stones were immediately on the offensive and from an initial corner they drew level within two minutes. The relief of scoring his first Stones goal was there for all to see as Pratt turned in a scrambled opportunity as he celebrated with the fans. But he wasn’t done. From the re-start the former Chippenham Town striker broke free from a great five man build up and he fired clinically past McHale leaving the White Tigers shell shocked and trailing.
Stones then took full control but to the Tiger’s credit they still had a sting in the tails – none more so than when the excellent Marcus Johnson-Schuser cleared off the line.
But on 64 minutes Stones sealed the points.  Fitchett, whose hold up play made a telling contribution, was upended in the box and Danny Green coolly fired home the spot kick for 3-1.
City still had time to rattle North’s upright but Stones defence held firm to ensure that the long trip was very worthwhile.
Stones are in action this Tuesday evening in the Semi-Final of the Middlesex Senior Cup at The Vale and back in league action versus Dartford, also at The Vale, on Saturday, kick-off 15:00.
WEALDSTONE: North, Johnson-Schuser, Okimo, Gayle, Oshodi, Cox, Whichelow, Wellard, Pratt, Green, Allen. Subs used: Fitchett, Sellers, Goodger, Sellers. Not used: Wilson, Otudeko
By Nick DuGard
https://www.wealdstone-fc.com/2018/posts/report-truro-city-1-3-wealdstone/

Bognor Regis Town 0 Truro City 2

 See Match Highlights Here: http://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/match-info/match-centre/1-2850731

A serious injury to Rocks keeper Dan Lincoln overshadowed the action as Bognor lost 2-0 at home to Truro.
The goalie was hurt as he tried to prevent what proved the winning goal and needed lengthy attention for an apparent spinal problem.
An ambulance was called while stewards and club medics attended to Lincoln and made sure he was well wrapped up on a cold afternoon.
After a delay of more than half an hour, Lincoln was carefully lifted on to a spinal board and taken to hospital by ambulance.
Many thought the game could have been abandoned because of the length of the hold-up but the officials persevered and the players came back out to play the final 10 minutes.
The action and the result didn't seem to matter to anyone after the injury to Lincoln.
At the start of the afternoon, the Rocks went into the game not having won a league game in front of their own fans since August 15, and with only one National League South victory since that first month of the season.
They handed a debut to new stirker Stefan Ljubicic, an Icelandic under-19 international recruited from Brighton's academy, while Ben Swallow was back in the squad after injury but had to settle for a place on the bench.
Truro arrived in the thick of the play-off race, in seventh place.
It was a fairly bright start to the game by Jack Pearce's men as they played the ball around briskly and had the better of the early possession.
The first chance to look for the head of Ljubicic from a set-piece was wasted when a short corner failed to end in a cross into the box.
There was a lengthy hold-up while Truro midfielder Noah Keats was treated for an injury sustained in an innocuous challenge by Jimmy Muitt.
Keaton Wood was booked for a heavy tackle on Cody Cooke, while the injured Keats was forced to hobble off, replaced by Aaron Lamont.
A nice spell of pressure by Bognor ended in crosses from the right by first Dan Beck then Calvin Davies being cleared.
On the whole neither side looked particularly threatening in the final third, with the two keepers both onlookers.
Manny Adebowale's hesitation in dealing with a Truro through-ball almost cost Bognor as Tyler Harvey pounced and fired a 25-yard shot off the top of the bar, with Lincoln beaten.
Ed Palmer's header from Connor Riley-Lowe's left-sided cross was only just wide as Truro enjoyed their best spell of the game to date.
Ljubicic and Ibra Sekajja combined to set up Davies for a rocket but it was deflected for a right-sided corner on 35 minutes.
It eventually fell to Ljubicic but his overhead attempt was well wide.
Within a minute Muitt woke the crowd up with a dribble and a shot that wasn't too far wide of keeper Tom McHale's post.
A half-chance for Harvey flew wide with Lincoln not troubled after Truro were given a free-kick for a player falling over his own feet.
Palmer was booked for halting Ljubicic in a move in which the Rocks were allowed to play but Richard Gilot was crowded out after getting to the byline.
The Rocks handed possession to Truro and the west-country side almost made them pay but Cooke headed his diving header wide.
Soon Harvey got his end on a Ben Harding cross but directed it wide.
As Truro continued to build the pressure Harding curled a shot at goal that Lincoln had to dive full length to push away.
HT 0-0
The first shot on goal after the restart came from Cooke but it struck a defender and went out for a corner.
Bognor were struggling to find any fluency and when they did get hold of the ball, they were giving it away far too easily.
One gift of possession by Muitt led to Harvey having sight of goal but Lincoln got behind his shot.
Palmer was over-ambitious with a 30-yard shot that flew well wide.
The Rocks' task got a whole lot harder on 64 minutes when Ljubicic's promising and hard-working debut ended early when he was red-carded for an illegal challenge that left defender Jamie Richards pole-axed.
That's likely to bring him a three-game ban - the last thing the Rocks need in their perilous position.
Truro responded to gaining a man advantage by doing most of the pressing - as you'd expect - and Cooke was close with a header that beat Lincoln but went a couple of feet wide.
Ben Swallow replaced Sekajja with a quarter of an hour to go. Then Truro were reduceed to ten men when Palmer was shown a second yellow for a cynical foul on Muitt as he galloped down the right.
That lifted the crowd and the Rocks and Swallow was sent clear for a run down the right that ended in him cutting in and firing a low shot just wide of McHale's near post.
But it was Truro who edged in front with 11 minutes to go - with Rocks keeper Lincoln getting injured in the process.
A low ball in from the right saw Truro defender Ben Gerring slide in to poke the ball goalwards, and Davies' clearance was deemed to have come after the ball had crossed the line.
Lincoln stayed down, and it soon became evident he had suffered some kind of spinal injury.
Stewards and club medics attended to him and made sure he was well covered up, while not wanting to move him before specialist medical help arrived.
Eventually an ambulance did arrive and after another wait while paramedics assessed him and moved him on to a spinal board, the players came out to warm up for the final ten minutes to be played.
When play did finally resume at 5.35pm sub Swallow was sent through on goal down the left but hesitated and Truro cleared.
Charman, brought on in goal in place of Lincoln, then showed his prowess between the sticks with a superb low save to keep out sub Andrew Neil's header.
Another sub Lamont ran through with only Charman to beat but was thwarted by another terrific save by the stand-in.
The Rocks certainly had their tails up after ther resumption, desperate to salvage a point, but Truro sub Neil clinched it for Truro when he got away down the left, rounded Charman and stroked the ball into the empty net.
Muitt was booked for a late tackle as the Rocks' frustrations were completed.
An afternoon to forget - and certainly one when the result didn't really seem to matter as fans went home hoping the news on Lincoln's injury proves not to be as serious as it looked.
Report Courtesy of the Bognor Regis Observer.
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bognorregistownfc/teams/73056/match-centre/1-2850731