By Gareth Davies at the Truro City Stadium
NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH (SATURDAY)
Truro City 3 Welling United 2
TRURO City defeated 10-man Welling United to keep hold of third place, with this latest reverse plunging Rod Stringer’s side into the relegation zone.
Tyler Harvey scored two of City’s three goals with Connor Riley-Lowe continuing his hot streak on a Saturday.
Welling, without a win since late January, then equalised just after the half hour mark through Deon Moore.
The score remained level at the interval, with the pendulum of momentum swinging towards City early in the second stanza, after the visitors were reduced to 10-men, when captain Dave Winfield was sent-off.
Truro had to be patient to unlock a stubborn visiting rearguard thereafter, but they did so through Harvey with 20 minutes left. And City’s leading scorer seemingly wrapped up the victory four minutes from time with a powerful finish inside the box.
However, Welling gave themselves hope with a stoppage time goal through Riccardo Di Trolio, but to no avail.
City boss John Askey named the same side which defeated Boreham Wood on Tuesday, as midweek matchwinner Jaze Kabia was once again only fit enough for the bench.
Dom Johnson-Fisher would lead the line with Tyler Harvey and he got the assist as the deadlock for the first goal.
Quick thinking from Will Dean played in Johnson-Fisher down the right, with his cross picking out Riley-Lowe who found the mark at the back post, for his fourth of the season.
It was a dream start for City and it almost got even better when Johnson-Fisher was a whisker away from turning home Luke Jephcott’s ball.
Riley-Lowe almost scored a carbon copy of his first before Harvey had his first effort of the afternoon, with Johnson-Fisher right to the fore.
Gradually, though, Welling did gain a foothold in the game and they levelled through Moore, who got in behind and fired past Dan Lavercombe.
Welling had a good chance to go ahead when a home free-kick routine went wrong with Scott Kashket and Gene Kennedy forcing Lavercombe into action after a swift counter-attack.
Winfield then made his side’s task an uphill one when he pressed the self-destruct button and was shown a second yellow card after the turnaround. Already into referee Said Ouchene’s notebook for a foul on Johnson-Fisher, the veteran defender grappled to the ground on halfway and was off.
It was one they took a while to capitalise on, but eventually City made their extra man count. Good work out on the right involving Zac Bell and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain eventually saw the ball set back for Will Dean, who delivered a brilliant cross into the box, which was headed into the net by Harvey.
And after Welling had a couple of half chances at the other end, the points were seemingly made safe five minutes from time.
Substitutes Billy Palfrey and Andrew Neal combined to win the ball off Jack Burchell, with Harvey then emphatically finishing for his 19th goal of the season.
City thought they were home and hosed at this point, but Welling kept it interesting right until the last when Di Trollio scored from a loose ball in the box.
TRURO CITY: Lavercombe, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Dean, Law, Bell, En-Neyah (Palfrey, 71), Rooney (Bates, 90), Riley-Lowe; Jephcott, Harvey (Sanders, 86), Johnson-Fisher (Neal, 71). Sub not used: Kabia.