It’s the longest journey of the season for the Fleet this Saturday as they make the Halloween trip to Truro, writes Libby O’Connell.
Form guide
A hugely welcome three points on Tuesday night saw the Fleet win at Maidstone as Josh Wright’s squad replaced the Stones at the top of the table, opening a two-point lead over their Kent rivals and still with games in hand.
Camron Gbadebo and Daniel Ogunleye got the Fleet into their stride but the final 10 minutes brought a brief spell of nerves for the fans after Jayden Davies responded for the hosts.
But yet again, Wright’s substitutions proved effective, as Harvey Walker restored the two-goal lead just after entering the pitch – and moments before the final whistle.
Saturday will bring another top-of-the-table test for the Fleet as Truro sit directly below them in the league, just one point behind. Fleet will need to call on that excellent consistency that has extended the unbeaten league run to 12 games, with four of the last five ending in victory.
Truro have also been enjoying a successful run lately, with their past five league games also unbeaten. Four of these have been victories, adding to their eight wins this season. Tuesday night saw them secure a 3-1 win over Steve McKimm’s Slough Town whilst the Saturday prior brought a tense, high-scoring 4-3 victory against Hampton & Richmond Borough.
Their only recent draw came away at Farnham Town towards the start of the month, with both teams scoring twice. This marked Truro’s third draw of the season.
The Tinners – NLS champions two years ago and relegated after their first and only National League campaign last season – have suffered only two league defeats this season, in late August and mid-September, with 1-0 losses to Dorking Wanderers and Salisbury.
The Cornwall side also enjoyed a more successful FA Cup run than many National League South teams this year, eventually being knocked out in the fourth qualifying round by Sutton United.
Last time out
The two teams have faced each other a total of five times, resulting in three draws and two victories for Ebbsfleet.
This will be the first meeting between the sides since the 2016/17 season, which resulted in a 4-2 victory (pictured below) for the Fleet and a 1-1 draw. The biggest victory against Truro came back in 2011, when Ebbsfleet secured a 5-2 win in the FA Trophy. That was at Truro’s old Treyew Road ground and this will be fans’ first visit to the club’s new 3,000-capacity Truro City Stadium.
Who’s who?
Centre-forward Tyler Harvey has already picked up nine goals for Truro this season, making him their current top scorer. He scored twice in their impressive 4-3 comeback against Hampton last weekend, helping his side secure victory despite trailing 3-1 going into the final 15 minutes. He also found the net on Tuesday night.
Harvey has been at Truro since September 2019, his second spell, having initially joined them from Wrexham in early 2017. He moved briefly to Bath City at the start of the 2019/20 season. It was only two months before his return to Truro. He also spent time at Plymouth Argyle, where he came through their academy.
In Truro’s promotion season, Harvey found the net 27 times, earning both the National League South Golden Boot and Player of the Year awards.
The Tinners added yet another experienced player to their squad in August with the signing of forward Omar Bogle. Prior to this, he spent time at Crewe Alexandra and much of the rest of his career in the EFL has included spells with Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth and Newport County. He also helped Grimsby Town win promotion back to the Football League in 2016.
Bogle scored on his debut for Truro against Chesham United in September. He’s certainly one for the Fleet to keep an eye on, although a recent hamstring injury makes his appearance on Saturday uncertain.
The manager
John Askey took charge of Truro in June 2024 and made an immediate impact, guiding them to the South title in his first season and securing promotion to the fifth tier for the first time in the club’s history.
Despite the club’s relegation last season, Askey remains in charge, clearly aiming for promotion yet again this season.
His managerial career began at Macclesfield in 2003, where he took charge for a season after retiring as a player at the club. He returned in 2013 and remained until 2018, guiding them back into the Football League. Since then, he’s taken charge of teams including Shrewsbury Town, Port Vale, York City, whom he led to promotion in the 2021/22 season, and Hartlepool United.
The referee
Staffordshire referee Jonathan Maskrey takes charge this weekend. As with last Saturday’s referee at the Morrow Stadium, Mr Maskrey is more familiar in National North surroundings and swaps Chorley last weekend for Cornwall this Saturday! He officiated our win at St Albans in the 2021/22 campaign and is into his seventh season at this level.
