City make it six out of 10 for Crusaders
Ten-man visitors add to Hungerford's home plight
Hungerfored Town 0 Truro City 1
TEN-MAN Truro hit Hungerford for their sixth home league defeat of the season to leave Crusaders still looking worryingly at the Vanarama National League South relegation places.
Truro survived the first half sending off of striker Cody Cooke for a lunge at defender Darnell Smith, and although Hungerford piled on intense pressure in the second half, City goalkeeper Tom McHale was never seriously tested.
And the game’s second ruckus near the end saw Hungerford full back Diak John red-carded, a three match ban they can hardly afford with such stretched resources and with next Saturday’s FA Trophy tie with Billericay Town.
They had only four substitutes available at home on Saturday, including assistant manager Gary McDonald and youth graduate Gabriel Silva. They made the better start against the high-flying Cornish side but Truro had the nearest thing to a chance when Noah Keats got a toe-poke at goalkeeper Marcus Beauchamp.
The goalkeeper also denied the same player when he was played in by Cooke, but Beauchamp spread himself to divert the ball over the bar and the pattern as set with Hungerford building well but Truro breaking better and Anton Rodgers free kick headed safely into McHale’s arms and a Luke Hopper drive, again safely fielded, were the home side’s best efforts.
It looked as if Hungerford had been handed a chance to capitalise when Cooke neatly turned inside two players, but having nudged the ball too far forward, lunged in at Smith and London referee Paul Howard showed him a straight red card, Alex Wall and Ed Palmer earning yellows for the resulting skirmish.
Truro faced an hour with 10 men, but were soon handed 52 of those in which to defend a lead when Hungerford got arguably their only ‘shot’ on target. Aaron Lamont skipped down the right to dive in a cross towards the near post where skipper Rhys Tyler attempted to cut out the ball with Beauchamp side-tracked, and he could only divert it into his own net.
Hungerford pilled on pressure before and after the interval, but more than 20 crosses failed to hit a mark and when Anton Rodgers dinked the ball in to Louis Soares, he could not juggle the ball into position to get in a telling shot.
Wall sent a free kick not far wide, but wide enough, and McHale comfortably pushed over a Rodgers free kick to make his only real save.
Wall was brought down just outside the box but shot into Truro’s wall and his departure, to be replaced by defender James Rusby, left Crusaders without a target.
With time running out, John and Billy Palfrey clashed down Hungerford’s left with the latter going down easily and up again even more easily to join the 18-man brawl that ended with John’s dismissal, and when James Clark could not quite connect with a cross in the six-yard box, Hungerford were left nursing another home setback and looking anxiously at the clubs approaching them from behind.
Hungerford Town: Beauchamp; Clark, Smith, Tyler, John; Soares, Rodgers, Herring, Stonehouse; Hopper, Wall. Subs: Whittingham, Rusby, Silva, McDonald.
Truro City: McHale; Palfrey, Gerring, Richards, Riley-Lowe; Lamont, Keats, Palmer, Harding; Neal, Cooke. Subs: Hartridge, Yetton, Copp, Allen, Thompson.
Referee: Paul Howard (London). Attendance: 224.
