ENTERPRISE NATIONAL LEAGUE, SATURDAY, 7th FEBRUARY 2026,

Truro Burst Morecamb’e Bubble.

Jim Bentley’s first home match as Morecambe Manager for six years saw him take charge of a `cup final ‘ – as he has so aptly described all of the seventeen games left for the Shrimps still to play. This one was against a team of the sort his men simply have to beat if the club is to stand any chance at all of staying in the National League after the disastrous performance of his predecessor Ashvir Singh Johal has left Morecambe rooted in the relegation positions, six points off safety at the bottom of the table. Truro City completed their massive trek from Cornwall today in an even more dire position. I was out of the country when Morecambe were humiliated by a weak Truro team last year on their own patch. The Shrimps shipped five goals without reply against a team which was rock bottom of the pile at the time. I didn’t write a match report for that particular shambles so I didn’t have the opportunity to re-post my previous potted history of a club we are unfamiliar with from the Review of National League clubs I wrote at the beginning of the season. So here it is now, with a bit added-on at the end from comments made by the Tinners’ Captain – Connor Riley-Lowe – just before today’s clash at the Mazuma Mobile stadium:

Truro City’s new ground can be found on the outskirts of what would – virtually anywhere else in England – be called Cornwall’s county town. But Cornwall is not a county – it is a Duchy. (Does that make it posher than everywhere else? Or does it imply that its inhabitants have yet to be liberated from Serfdom and are all still Chattels and Villains?  You decide – but as you do so, keep in mind Cornwall’s ancient Latin motto: “Muchius Touchius Duchyus” – “We’re very Touchy about the word Duchy!”)…

Whatever, Truro is one of Britain’s smallest cities (the only one in Cornwall) – and it’s main football club can be found 377 miles south-west from the Mazuma Mobile Stadium in the village of Threemilestone, which is a very precise distance to the west of the city centre of the capital of the Duchy and is marked by a milestone. If only I could remember how far….

Anyway, the club initially played in the Plymouth & District League and then the newly-formed Cornwall Senior League, beginning in 1931. As from 1951, they then spent over a half a century mostly in the South Western League and – briefly during the 1970s – the Cornwall Combination. But in the early Twenty-First Century, a wealthy benefactor and his significant investment saw the club enjoy five promotions in six years (four in pole position). They moved progressively from the South Western League to the Western League Division One and then the Southern League Division One West & South; Southern League Premier Division and finally the Football Conference South, which they joined in 2011. Two years later – as the Magic Money Tree disappeared – they went down again one division following Administration; an embargo and a ten-point deduction. This came about as the HMRC issued a Winding-Up order to the club for an alleged debt of over £100,000. It soon got worse: the National League South issued a demand for a £50k bond to guarantee the club’s survival until the end of the season (sound familiar at all?…) which, when the Tinners were unable to pay it, led to the postponement of their game against Dover Athletic on the lucky thirteenth of October 2012. They were saved from expulsion from the competition by two businessmen who jointly paid the bond. But they still got relegated, only to bounce back again to the re-branded National League South for four years before spending another four years back in the Southern League Premier Division.

During this time – in 2014 – they sold their tiny and dilapidated old ground on Treyew Road in the city – where they had been based since the mid-1950s. They moved-out four years later and – to the consternation of many loyal Tinners – began playing a two-hour drive and almost 110 miles away which – to make things even worse – was in a place where both the dreaded Emmets and Grockles – Aar!! – are known to dwell: Torquay United’s Plainmoor in (cross yourselves quickly): Devon! (A Cornishman I once met who was on Missionary Work in London told me that it is no coincidence that the words `Devil’ and `Devon’ start with the same three letters…)

Be that as it may – and very ironically – the two teams have met in the Devil’s own county subsequently and once, there were apparently fifty `away’ fans for every single person who had travelled from over the Cornish border to watch their supposedly ‘home’ game. (Just to rub it in, Torquay have won all four competitive games between the two clubs during the last two seasons even though Truro had the last laugh at the end of the latest campaign by winning the Division.)

Truro moved back to their original home in Cornwall after just one season away. In 2021, they were on the move again – back to Devon. This time, they played a bit closer to home (just over 50 miles) at Plymouth Parkway FC’s ground at Bolitho Park. This proved to be problematic and the peripatetic Tinners found themselves ground-sharing with both Taunton Town FC (just 127 miles away) and then almost 200 miles away {Wales would be closer) at Gloucester City FC’s Meadow Park. They were finally able to return to their home County – sorry – Duchy and Cornwall’s capital for the 2024-25 season. They now play at an all-purpose sports stadium called “Truro City Stadium” – which, incidentally, is named after the town and not after the club. It is a very small ground with only one permanent stand and a total capacity of just 3,600 spectators. Their first match during August last year at their new home was memorable for a bizarre occurrence. The visitors – mighty Dorking Wanderers of the London Suburban Commuters’ Waterloo Line Premier Division or wherever – had to play the match wearing their shirts inside out. This was because their kit was the same colour as City’s. (For the record, Gnikrod – er, Dorking reversed – won 1-2.)

The Tinners reached the First Round Proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history in 2017 only to be beaten 3-1 by Charlton Athletic at the Valley. But another promotion saw them back in the National League South in 2023. Last term, though, the club finally turned professional and although they were favourites for relegation, they pipped former EFL club and Devonian Devils rivals Torquay United on the last day of the campaign only a few short weeks ago to the National League South title by the tiniest of margins: a goal-difference of just Plus two.

So this is not only their first ever season in the National League proper and the highest point in the English Football Pyramid City have ever reached, they are the first ever Cornish club to play at such an exalted level. So Hats Off to them.

The Trophy Cabinet at City’s home ground remains a bit bare though. They have been successful in several local Junior and Senior Cups over the decades but the only one of England’s better-known competitions they have won during their 136-year history is the FA Vase. They beat AFC Totton of Hampshire 3-1 in the Final at Wembley in 2007.

The Shrimps and the Tinners have never met in any sort of competitive football match and I can’t find any details of even a single player who has been employed by both clubs.

I must admit to being totally confused too (it doesn’t take much) by the club’s choice of a Mascot: Brian Chough, which seems to be more Corny than Cornish to me and doesn’t appear to make any sense anyway. `Ol’ Big Head’ Brian Clough spent decades in football working hundreds of miles away from Truro and has no obvious link to Cornwall either that I am aware of.

According to Professor Google, a Chough is a sort of bird – in the Western Hemisphere, one of the crow family. The club’s crest seems to feature a leopard, though. So what am I missing? Did someone called Brian Chough once play for them or something? (And please don’t bother repeating the mistake I have just made and look on the club’s website for enlightenment.) It tells us: ` No one’s quite sure how old Brian is’. Really? But it’s accompanied by a picture of Brian (with the squad number 89) and date of birth 1/1/25, which is a bit of a giveaway, isn’t it?… Then it provides what I suppose must be some sort of explanation to the initiated who understand what terms like `tekkers’ and `Giss on, me ansom!’ actually mean – they are completely incomprehensible to a mere Grockle like me.

Do you think whoever wrote this has been on the old Cornish Scrumpy?…

More sober words about the sudden improvement in Truro’s status this season came out of the mouth of Tinners’ Captain – Connor Riley-Lowe – just before today’s clash at the Mazuma Mobile stadium:

“You’ve got to remember that we’re a club that was part time last year. A lot of lads have left their jobs to do this full-time. It was never going to be: just walk straight into it and start flying. The league’s too tough to do that. So it’s going to take our players and staff and the club time to get the right players in; then find the right way of playing and find our levels – I think that it was harder than it first seems to do that.”

Those of us ancient enough – such as Jim Bentley, who profited from it – to remember when Morecambe made the same transition under Jim Harvey will empathise. Good luck to them – just not today…

Morecambe opened the second Jim Bentley era with a creditable 1-1 draw at Altrincham last Tuesday: a game they would have won if it wasn’t for some erratic and frankly unacceptably bad refereeing by the incompetent with the whistle, Michael Barlow. Today’s match official: Zac Kennard-Kettle could hardly be any worse – could he?

The day before the game, the scorer of an exceptional goal on Tuesday – Jack Nolan – shared his initial thoughts about the new Manager with Radio Lancashire:

“He is very clear about what he expects from us. He wants us to be hard-working and determined and put in professional performances. Change is one of them things where it can be a breath of fresh air or it can go the other way and since the Gaffer’s come in, he’s blown us all away. He knows most of our names within two days, which is great for the lads. You have to enjoy the pressure of having to win – so it should be an exciting couple of months.”

As for the Manager himself, Jim repeated what he said before the game against Altrincham as to how he expected Morecambe’s players to get themselves out of the mire they currently find themselves in. This is how he thought they did:

“I said the first thing they’ve got to do is: eighteen cup finals; we’re in a battle; we’re not in the best of positions; it’s not as healthy as we want it to be. But the least we expect is the non-negotiables: that’s competing; that’s working hard; getting round each other; backing each other up. Really having a go without the ball. And I think they did that. You can see the reception from the fans at the end of the game. They’re not daft, the fans here: I’ve known them for years: if you give them your absolute all, they will give it back to you in return. I don’t think there’s any issues in that department there. They’ve set the standards now. They’ve shown me that they want to fight; they want to battle; they want to give their all for the football club. But on the other side, I think at times the other night we just turned it over a little too cheaply. But we looked a threat; we had opportunities. We scored a great goal. We had a little bit of hard luck. So it was quite eventful. The most pleasing thing that I’ve learnt is that when you come in – and it’s a blank canvas for me – so see a group of lads go out and the subs that come on and give it their absolute all is going to be what we need moving forward. So that was pleasing to see.”

Truro started the game just one place and a single point behind today’s hosts but with a game in hand. Their recent record isn’t actually too bad: one win and three draws in their last six league games. Last Tuesday, they beat Braintree Town 3-0 on penalties in a National League Cup after the game had ended 1-1 in Cornwall thanks to an equaliser by Braintree goalkeeper Mason Terry with the last action of the game in injury time. They have thus progressed to the semi-finals of the NL Cup – a competition from which the Shrimps were excluded because of the Jason Whittingham shenanigans which saw the club start the season late. A week ago, though, the Tinners should have hosted Scunthorpe United in the league. The game was postponed not due to the ravages of Storm Ingrid as I wrongly assumed but because Scunny were playing (and losing) in the FA Trophy at home against minnows Horsham instead.

I looked on the Tinner’s official website, seeking the thoughts of their veteran Manager, John Askey.  And failed. But I did find a little gem which reminded me of my sojourn in London decades ago. Cockneys – notorious for being territorial and insular and lost outside their own little fiefdoms even in the capital itself – would tell me stuff about what they had heard happening `up your way’. “Up my way” could be anywhere from Glasgow to Birmingham; Liverpool to Newcastle because to these people, anywhere north of Watford was just “App norf.” So I’m glad that the Truro coach driver had GPS: god alone knows where they might have ended-up today in the wilderness outside the Duchy otherwise – probably somewhere in the Potteries:

“City boss John Askey, who hails from Stoke-on-Trent, was no stranger to this part of the world, having played and managed Macclesfield Town with distinction, as well as enjoying a spell in the dugout of Port Vale…”

The weather was sunny in north Lancashire on the morning of the match but by three in the afternoon, grey clouds had appeared and there was rain in the air which never fully materialised.

There was an electric atmosphere in the ground prior to kick-off; an expectant crowd; loud chanting for the men in red from the packed terraces and a hope that the dire days of Ashvir Singh Johal could be forgotten as Morecambe drove forwards to a brighter future.

But the ground was virtually silent after a very short time. Truro weren’t here to make up the numbers: they were here to win. And they did – far too easily. They started with a gamble. Having obviously won the toss, they elected to play with their backs to the massed home ranks in the first half. If they were to concede early, the already raucous atmosphere behind them could prove to be an extra man for the home side.

Their initial task was obviously to stifle the Shrimps on the field and – in doing so – to quieten the home crowd. And they did this hardly without breaking stride. Morecambe were absolutely hopeless. Nobody turned-up today. Gwion Edwards tried, perhaps too hard. Same can be said of Skipper Yann Songo’o, who was booked within half an hour and had to watch his step from then on. Jack Nolan had a poor game. Chris Popov apparently scored in the second half according to most match reports I have seen (it was clearly Gwion’s goal) but was outsmarted – and outplayed – by the visiting defence more often than not. Ben Tollitt ducked-out of any physical contact and contributed little. Jamal Blackman was slow to clear the ball and conceded a corner-kick when he held onto it for too long during the first half. Miguel Azeez also had a shocker and it was his mistake which led to Truro taking the lead after 39 minutes.

Morecambe had cleared a corner and were looking to hit City on the counter-attack. But Azeez stopped on the half-way line on the Shrimps’ left and indulged his instinct to pass the ball sideways instead of forwards. Truro’s Luke Jephcott gleefully intercepted, played a perfect ball in the correct direction into space where defender Shaun Donnellan ran onto it and scored all too easily. What a shambles. The men in the sky blue strip continued to ask all the questions; won a succession of corners and then scored again in injury time. Captain Connor Riley-Lowe took a corner and Tyler Harvey forced it home as the home defence stood off and watched. At the other end, goalkeeper Aidan Stone had virtually nothing to do and not even a single shot on target to deal with. Truro looked more motivated, more determined – and simply much fitter than our lack-lustre team, who were booed off at half time

Jim obviously gave his men the sort of rocket they would never have got from Ashvir during the interval and they came out and started to actually compete for the first time. Truro were pushed back and looked panicky occasionally as the home crowd were at last given something to shout about. Morecambe duly reduced the arrears with a sumptuous goal by Edwards which has subsequently been attributed to Chris Popov for reasons I simply don’t understand. But that was it: a brief revival followed by nothing. Jim shuffled his pack to no effect and Morecambe lost yet again in a game which will not live long in the memory.

Jimbo must wonder what he has let himself in for. The consensus as I left the ground among fellow fans was that the team simply isn’t good enough to survive at this level. I disagree – but Jimbo is going to have to work miracles to turn things around in time to avoid the drop: he has a massive task on his hands.

This was a really critical defeat for the Shrimps today. Truro now have the double over us and they seem to have what it takes to survive in this division. We have now fallen below them in the table. The only worse team in the entire National League is Gateshead, whose match against Braintree was postponed. They remain three points behind us but now have three games in hand. Truro have two points more than we do and also have a game in hand. Sutton – in twentieth place – lost 1-0 at Boston today but are still six points better off than us with one game fewer played. Altrincham also lost – 0-1 against Yeovil at home but remain nine points better off, having played one game more.

So the bubble burst very early for a New Manager Bounce at Morecambe today. But Jim Bentley remained brutally realistic about the situation he has found himself in after the game:

“Very disappointed, obviously. They’ve had a certain way of playing but I just want my defenders to defend; I’m not interested in them getting their (touching his forehead) minds on playing out from the back. Just defend that defensive third like your life depends on it. I was quite alarmed by certain things in the first half, being perfectly honest. One of the things I wrote down straight away was: when we do get into the middle third and we’re going to build an attack, who’s sensing danger? Who’s thinking: “What if?” Who’s going to close the `gates’ – as we call them? We were quite wide open. The first goal come from that. We turn the ball over in the centre of the park – but we’ve still got three players with whoever scored the goal. But no-one’s thought: “what happens of Migs (Azeez) gives it away in the middle third?” Where are we, behind the attack? That’s the mentality we need to have. When they scored, you’re thinking: we’ve got three players marking one! And that’s alarming!”

In acknowledging that his team aren’t fit enough, he said:

”We have up the training a bit: try to get them sharper and brighter”

 Turning to the worries he had about his players’ mentality, he added:

“It’s not all to do with how they have been set-up to play: that’s down to individuals at times; a mentality to defend and dig-in. We’re going to have to find that within us and roll our sleeves up and battle and compete. Make sure your opposite number’s not getting the better of you. Is it in them? It’s up to us to try and get it out of them. We will have to squeeze every ounce out of every last player within the squad. If we take the first half, if we’re going to bring that to the party, we might just as well pack up now and go home – it’s as simple as that. But if we bring large parts of the second half to the party, well – come on – let’s go on; let’s get the foot down!”

Morecambe: 40 Jamal Blackman; 2 Lewis Payne; 5 Harlee Dean; 6 Ludwig Francillette; 7 Gwion Edwards; 8 Miguel Azeez (Y); 15 Ben Williams (20 Mo Sangare 90’); 18 Ben Tollitt (21 Joe Nuttall 72’); 24 Yann Songo’o (C) (Y) (17 Paul Lewis 84’); 36 Jack Nolan; 42 Chris Popov (32 George Thomas 90’).

Subs not used: 41 Myles Boney; 29 Ashton McWilliams 33 Timothy Akindileni.

Truro City: 24 Aidan Stone; 3 Connor Riley-Lowe (C); 5 Tom Harrison; 9 Tyler Harvey; 11 Dominic Johnson-Fisher (20 Ryan Law 66’); 12 Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain (Y); 14 Lirak Hasani; 15 Luke Jephcott; 25 Shaun Donnellan; 29 Harry Kite (Y); 32 Harry Charsley.

Subs not used: 1 Dan Lavercombe; 2 Zac Bell; 10 Billy Palfrey; 19 Rekell Pyke; 21 Max Kinsey; 22 Jack Stretton.

Ref: Zac Kennard-Kettle.

Att: 2,663 (85 from Truro – safe journey home to you all.)