Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Truro City.
The Opposition
Truro City became the first team from Cornwall to ever be promoted to the National League, after former York City and Hartlepool United boss John Askey guided the Tinners to the National League South title last season.
The Cornish side secured the trophy in dramatic fashion, with the season finale seeing six teams vying for the title, but it was Truro who prevailed as a 5-2 win over St. Albans City sealed the title on goal difference at the expense of Torquay United.
Summer signing Jaze Kabia’s 16 goals made him a standout member of Askey’s frontline and earned a move to League Two side Grimsby Town, although top scorer Tyler Harvey stole the headlines last term, topping the division’s goalscoring ranks with 28 strikes, four more than the second highest in Boreham Wood’s Kwesi Appiah, to win the Golden Boot, as well as being named in the National League South Team of the Season, before capping off a spectacular season with the division’s Player of the Season award.
Furthermore, Dan Lavercombe carried out an important role at the other end of the pitch, featuring in all 46 games behind a defence consisting of Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, Zach Bell, Will Dean, Ryan Law and Connor Riley-Lowe, with Askey’s favoured back five system offering defensive solidity which saw Truro maintain the second best defensive record in the league (42), bettered only by Maidstone United (38).
The Tinners have since embarked on a difficult maiden campaign in the fifth tier, despite strengthening with a host of experienced and talented arrivals including Luke Jephcott (Newport County), Rekeil Pyke (Grimsby Town), Aidan Stone (Yeovil Town), Harry Kite (Yeovil Town), Ben Starkie (Harborough), Lirak Hasani (Torquay United), Shaun Donnellan (Livingston) and Max Kinsey (AFC Bournemouth), along with free agents Jake Taylor, Saikou Janneh and Aiden Marsh.
However, Askey’s side have struggled to adapt to the higher level of football, currently propping up the table despite an unbeaten six games in all competitions last month, and will be looking to return to winning ways after losing their three.
The Manager
John Askey
Former Macclesfield Town forward John Askey wrote his name into Truro City folklore, guiding the Tinners to the National League South title last term.
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Askey rose through the ranks at Port Vale as a player, before a brief stint in amateur football with Milton United preceded a move to Macclesfield, where he went on to spend his entire career. He racked up more than 600 appearances for the Silkmen – their record appearance holder – as well as being the fourth highest goalscorer with 155 goals.
A pacey, skilful and intelligent winger, Askey won a host of honours throughout his career, winning the Conference twice, Northern Premier League once, Northern Premier League Challenge Cup once, Northern Premier League President’s Cup once, Chesire Senior Cup four times, Bob Lord Challenge Trophy once and the Staffordshire Senior Cup twice, as well as winning promotion out of the Third Division in 1997/99. To add to this, he was twice named as the club’s Player of the Year in 1988/89 and 1999/00, before hanging up his boots in 2003.
He immediately made the move into management though, remaining at Macclesfield for a further 15 years, cementing his place as a club legend with both his playing career and what would prove to be an incredibly successful period as a coach too. Starting out as a reserve-team manager, he led the reserves to the Football Combination Division Two title and later worked as assistant to David Moss, before taking over as caretaker manager, winning three of his first seven matches to be rewarded with the permanent job, a role he returned to in 2013 after an extended spell with the club’s youth team.
The former England C team international went on to lead the Silkmen into the National League title in 2017/18, ending a six-year absence from the EFL, and adding to the boss’ long list of honours at Moss Road alongside the Chesire Senior Cup in 2014/15), as well as a runner-up medal in the FA Trophy in 2016/17.
Askey was subsequently awarded the freedom of Macclesfield in 2018 for his accomplishments in the city across more than three decades, but financial difficulties within the club brought an end to his 34-year association with the club in 2018 despite guiding them to that aforementioned promotion.
Spells in the Football League followed for Askey with spells at Shrewsbury Town and Port Vale, before guiding York City to promotion out of the National League North in 2021/22, while his controversial dismissal from the Minstermen midway through the following season preceded a brief spell at Hartlepool United, a club with which he struggled to recreate his previous feats.
However, Askey restored his superb reputation within non-league after opting to move down south, with a move to Truro leading to him guiding the club from the expectation of being relegation battlers to league winners, an achievement which saw him named as the National League South Manager of the Season.
Photo: Frankie OKeeffe/PPAUK
One to Watch
Luke Jephcott
Former Plymouth Argyle forward Luke Jephcott was once deemed an incredibly hot prospect within the EFL, and despite not quite managing to reach those heights, he has still established himself as a reliable goalscorer in non-league.
Born in Aberystwyth, Wales, Jephcott spent time in the youth setups at Cornwall-based clubs Wendron United and Hestlon Athletic, before being spotted by Plymouth in 2014. He went on to spend five years in the academy at Home Park, and was awarded his first team debut in 2018 while still an apprentice.
He later made his full debut just ten days later in an EFL Trophy match against Chelsea Under-21’s, and preceded his first stint at Truro – a brief loan move during the 2019/20 campaign.
Despite spending a period within the Southern League, Jephcott rapidly made the jump into the Pilgrims’ first team after being recalled, and won both the League Two Player of the Month and Young Player of the Month awards for January after scoring five goals in four games.
He ended the campaign with seven goals in 14 appearances as the Pilgrims won promotion to League One, and he continued his fine form by starting the 2020/21 campaign with a sensational run of 14 goals in 18 games, which had followed just one from his first seven games to the season.
While he had attracted interest from a host of Championship clubs, he later moved to Swindon Town on loan in September 2022, and was released following their promotion to the Championship under Steven Schumacher.
Jephcott subsequently completed three of the UK’s four countries with moves to Scottish side St. Johnstone and Welsh side Newport County, before returning to Truro on loan midway through the 2024/25 campaign, scoring his first goal upon his return on his debut in a 3-1 win over Hampton & Richmond Borough.
He went on to contribute six goals as the Tinners won promotion to the National League for the first time, and he was rewarded for his efforts by making the move permanent with a two-year deal last summer, while the striker has since notched three goals so far this term.
Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
Recent Form
Braintree Town 2-0 Truro City
Truro City 0-1 Altrincham
Solihull Moors 4-0 Truro City
Gateshead 2-2 Truro City
Truro City 3-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Truro City 2-1 FC Halifax Town
Last Time Out
Goals inside the final ten minutes from substitute duo Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and John Akinde saw Braintree defeat Truro City.
The hosts hit the woodwork twice in their search for an opener, going closest when a rare foray forward resulted in Goran Babic and Dan Rooney tangling in the box, leaving the referee to point to the spot but Dan Lavercombe guessed the right way and pushed James Vennings’ poor penalty away with two strong hands.
At the other end of the field, Will Dean’s header was cleared off the line during a purple patch for the Tinners shortly after the turnaround.
However, Emmanuel-Thomas, who joined the Iron from AFC Totton earlier in the week, struck a magnificent free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards to send most of the sub 1,000 crowd inside Cressing Road into raptures, before a game clinching second arrived deep into six minutes of stoppage time.
Akinde got the better of Sanders and bearing down on goal, the veteran striker nonchalantly dinked the ball over Lavercombe to finish with aplomb and seal Braintree’s first National League win at home since mid-August.
Photo: PPAUK
