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Truro City Secures Promotion in Dramatic Fashion
In an intense match, St Albans FC introduced their imposing forward, Alex Wall, at halftime in a bid to turn the tide. His efforts nearly bore fruit when, after an hour of play, Oxlade-Chamberlain executed a crucial block to deny a header that could have reduced the deficit.
As the second half progressed, Will Dean stepped up to intercept a critical shot from Ken Charles, illustrating St Albans’ increasing competitiveness in the game.
Midway through the half, the hometown supporters at Truro breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Hemel had narrowed their scoreline against Torquay to 3-1. This momentary comfort was quickly overshadowed when Cody Cooke, a former Truro striker, secured his hat-trick, extending the score to 4-1 for Hemel with just 15 minutes remaining. A palpable tension settled back over Truro’s new ground.
Things intensified further when St Albans substitute Shaun Jeffers connected with a cross from Charles, heading it in 12 minutes before full time, which closed the gap to 4-2, raising the stakes for Truro.
Truro’s Harvey soon had a goal disallowed, with Andrew Neal being ruled offside, and Yassine En-Nayah narrowly missed the post with a shot just nine minutes from the end.
However, in the dying moments of the match, veteran Truro striker Neal clinched promotion by breaking through the defense and striking a low shot that hit the base of the post before crossing the line, igniting celebrations among the record crowd of 3,597.
Truro City’s manager, John Askey, expressed his elation, stating, “It’s been a rollercoaster season. None of us thought we’d be here today celebrating winning the league. It doesn’t get any better—it’s been a fantastic effort by the players, and I’m truly pleased for Truro and all of Cornwall.”
Having previously achieved promotions out of various leagues, Askey admitted that he was taken aback by his team’s explosive start. “I’ve never seen it before,” he remarked. “For a promotion team needing a win, scoring three goals in such a brief period is remarkable. Even after the setback to 3-1, coming back to make it 4-1 was special. It’s a day we need to savor.”
Source
www.bbc.com