914 miles, 185 fans – doing English football’s longest away day

185 fans supported Truro City as they kicked off in the National League at Gateshead on Saturday, marking the furthest stretch in English league football history.

Never before has a team traveled as far as Truro had on the verge of three points as Truro did when the team was promoted from the regional divisions to the national level for the first time this summer.

In the dim dawn light, the wind sways around the parking lot, rattling the corrugated supermarket shutters, and causing discarded carrier bags to sag in the rain to hit the tarmac.

For years, Shane Hendra and his friends have taken this location for their away matches.

He claims, “This is exactly why we love football because it’s so exciting.”

For breakfast, a packet of Cornish pasties is carried around the vehicle. The group anticipates arriving at their Newcastle hotel around 5 o’clock after a few stops along the way.

Matt Hall, a historian for the Truro club, is seated in the back alongside me. He has enjoyed getting to travel further afield with his team.

He continues, “It’s incredible.” It’s a whole new level of support,” she said.

My dad passed away, but I spent decades with him. You get to know everyone at the games because we don’t have that many fans. I met these men, and we are currently traveling together.

The Truro team travels by executive coach from Exeter to Exeter, the only team from Cornwall to ever compete at this level.

They will spend the afternoon at Derby County’s training facility before flying to Gateshead on Saturday morning and staying there overnight.

The club’s ability to travel is arguably greater than that of their competitors.

In full team tracksuit at a service station, board member Rob Butland claims that “the most obvious disadvantage is financial.” To make the most of each long journey, we must find money.

Even our closest away games are only a few counties away. Simply put, it’s crazy.

The trick is to make the traveling a strength, using it as a force that unites the group.

I part ways with Hendra’s group in Bristol as they pick up another passenger, send them a message, and fly over to meet fans in the North East.

Flying is by far the most environmentally destructive mode of transportation, but the majority of fans believe it to be the only viable option due to the prohibitively high cost of train tickets and the unenviable drive-in.

No organized coach travel or official supporters’ trust exists for the club.

These kinds of trips have been made for the past and are to be enjoyed, for those whose generations of Truro have supported them.

John Joyce, 50, who travels with his 23-year-old son Tom, says, “It’s a big part of our relationship.”

Because we all share this commonality, my friends are his friends, and vice versa.

Tom continues, “We’re treating it like a one-off chance in case we go back down,” adding, “I’ve been buzzing for all the trips.”

Success could help these epic trips, making the prospect of glory seem less daunting.

Truro are, blatantly, one of the nation’s worst professional teams.

They have been particularly hampered on their travels because they are third in the National League.

The results don’t really matter, John says, “you might think these people are mad” for going so far, watching their team lose,” to be honest.

Fans of Truro are more accustomed to spending their days drinking pints in more serene provincial southern towns, but promotion has allowed them to have a fun-loving Friday night out at one of the nation’s best party spots.

Newcastle is sure to tick every box. They’re satisfied at the Quayside for fans looking for a good old-fashioned British boozer to munch on all night.

They have taken themselves to the Bigg Market for the upbeat crowd looking for a late-night dance floor. And karaoke aficionados couldn’t be more catered for.

There are plenty of sore heads before the game, and the majority of them choose to take a free pint from the Fog on the Tyne pub for the first 100 Truro fans who arrive.

Gateshead play in an 11, 800-capacity stadium that was built to house athletics events and gigs, but have the league’s lowest average attendance.

As Truro kick off, the home stands are almost entirely empty, the temperature has dropped, and the outside terrace’s teeth are rumbling.

A few neutral groundhoppers who are interested in being a part of history, who are enthralled by the novelty of the journey and the presence of a few, higher than usual, are among the 185 away attendees.

When the match begins, Truro are uncharacteristically captivating. After five minutes, Dominic Johnson-Fisher gave them adeserved lead. Their lead was doubled just before half-time thanks to defender Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose father Mark and brother Alex played for England during their careers, after two more goals were sadly denied.

The away end is bedlam at halftime.

However, after the break, Gateshead improve and score twice in the 70th minute, with West Ham’s first senior player Frank Nouble scoring the winning goal.

Luke Jephcott puts his finish wide, but Truro has a fantastic chance to win it in stoppage time, one-on-one with the unbeaten keeper.

A decades-old fan who also played for the club’s women’s team, Sharon Hinds, says, “I would have taken a point before kick-off, I suppose.”

John and Tom Joyce are just two of the first fans to return to Truro.

“Has it been worthwhile to travel?” Absolutely,” says John. Following our team is what we do, and this trip will be a part of our family for a long time.

It’s unlikely that Truro’s new record will soon be broken.

A league meeting with Truro is improbable because Mousehole and Falmouth are a little further south than Truro, but their respective teams only play regionally in the region and only Newcastle, the top club, and Blyth Spartans, the eighth-tier team, are both further north than Gateshead.