Wealdstone 1 – 2 Truro City
Wealdstone
1 - 2
Truro CityTruro City stole victory at Grosvenor Vale after Niall Thompson and substitute Andrew Neal’s second-half efforts cancelled out Elliot Benyon’s eleventh competitive goal of the season.
Defeat for the Stones dropped them down to ninth position and was definitely a missed opportunity as a victory could have moved them up in to the play-off places.
Captain Wes Parker returned to the starting line-up in place of Tom Hamblin. Omar Koroma and Elliott Godfrey were also in for Sahr Kabba and David Hunt. Jonny Wright returned to the bench.
The White Tigers had a great chance six minutes in when debutant Louis Rooney volleyed just over the bar from the edge of the area.
But it was Benyon who opened the scoring after a tight opening phase of the game when Matthew Whichelow played a ball over the top for the striker to easily slot past Tom McHale.
Wealdstone then went into the ascendency and struck the post when Koroma put a 25-yard free-kick over the wall.
Koroma then had a chance to double the Stones lead on the 48th minute but his shot trickled wide as the home side’s dominance continued unabated.
The Stones spent most of the second half camped on the edge of Truro’s penalty area but couldn’t create that killer chance that would put the game to bed.
And they were punished for that on 72 minutes when City hit the home side on a counter attack. Thompson evaded Ciaron Brown’s challenge and struck a venomous effort into the top corner.
Substitute Neal almost put the visitors ahead latching on to a long ball from the keeper McHale but his lobbed effort went narrowly over the crossbar.
The Stones now inexplicably looked a shadow of the side that had controlled the game so well. From similar circumstances to his earlier effort, the tricky striker Neal nipped onto another long ball before rounding Jonathan North in goal and taking three snatched points back to Cornwall.
Stones will need to rally quickly from this surprising defeat as they have a huge Emirates FA Cup tie next Saturday (1 October) at The Vale when they entertain Banbury United. KO 3pm.
WEALDSTONE: North, Cox, Brown, McLeod-Urquhart, Parker, Wellard, Godfrey (Wright 87), Green, Benyon, Whichelow, Koroma
Unused subs: Williams, Kabba, Hutchinson, McGleish.
By Chris Woods
Post match Interview with Gordon Bartlett HERE
Alan Palmer pictures HERE