By Gareth Davies at Plainmoor
FA TROPHY SECOND-ROUND (SATURDAY)
Torquay United 1 Truro City 0
TRURO City’s FA Trophy hopes were ended at Plainmoor, as Dan Hayfield’s 52nd minute free-kick settled an absorbing tie, which saw the visitors dominate for long spells.
Torquay were indebted to former City incumbent James Hamon, who made three fine saves to keep his former employers at bay, and just seven minutes after the restart, Hayfield found the top corner with a magnificent 25-yard free-kick.
Visiting boss John Askey made three changes from the side which lost 1-0 at Boreham Wood on Tuesday evening. Tyler Harvey was ruled out with a quad injury while Jaze Kabia was only fit enough to make the bench after requiring stitches in Hertfordshire.
Connor Riley-Lowe returned to the starting line-up and captained the side in place of Tylor Love-Holmes, while in the engine room, Will Dean was back from suspension and Billy Palfrey dropped to the bench.
There was also a place among the substitutes for recent City acquisition Levi Andoh, who has joined on loan from York City.
With Harvey and Kabia both missing, the Truro line was led by Dominic Johnson-Fisher and Andrew Neal.
Truro settled well into proceedings against the hosts, who were without their manager and former City chief Paul Wotton due to a touchline ban.
Johnson-Fisher was proving to be a real thorn in the side of the hosts in the early stages with both Ed Palmer and Jordan Dyer given the runaround by the former Whitehawk man.
And shortly after Dean’s sighter, Johnson-Fisher found himself in on goal, but was denied by a smart low save from Hamon. The resulting corner went low into the near post with Hamon called into action once more, to save with his legs on the line.
It took Torquay’s frontline 28 minutes to have any sight of Dan Lavercombe’s goal, but former City favourite Cody Cooke saw his effort blocked.
Cooke then registered a shot on goal shortly after when Ryan Law went down in midfield, Torquay didn’t stop, and Oscar Threlkeld played in the Penryn man, but he couldn’t find the target.
The game’s big talking point then came just shy of the interval when a Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain cross caused pandemonium in the home box. Neal, Johnson-Fisher and Dan Rooney all tried to poke the ball home and it fell to Riley-Lowe, who swept home into the top corner.
Referee Lewis Sandoe signalled a goal and with Torquay trudging back to the centre circle, Hamon rushed over to remonstrate with the assistant who never raised his flag in the first instance.
However, after a period of deliberation, offside was ruled, as Cornish assistant James Long felt that three Truro players on the turf were in an illegal position.
Torquay enjoyed more of the ball soon after the restart, and they had a half-hearted penalty appeal turned down before the deadlock was broken by Hayfield after Dean had impeded Cooke.
Neal was millimetres away from turning Riley-Lowe’s teasing cross just after the hour before Johnson-Fisher was again denied by Hamon.
Andoh, on as a substitute for Law, nearly claimed a debut assist when he flicked Dean’s free-kick into the path of Neal, but once again the ball was just out of his reach.
Dyer then appeared to tug Tom Harrison’s shirt in the box with City wanting a penalty, but the referee waved away the visitors’ claims.
Truro brought on Tavenga Kuleya with 90 minutes approaching, but the hosts held on.
TRURO CITY: Lavercombe; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Harrison, Sanders; Riley-Lowe, En-Neyah, Dean, Rooney (Kuleya, 85), Law (Andoh, 73); Neal, Johnson-Fisher (Kabia, 73). Subs not used: Jones, Palfrey.