Former Hartlepool United boss John Askey leads Truro City to remarkable National League South title win

The Tinners became the first ever Cornish side to win promotion to the National League on a dramatic final day of what Askey described as a "rollercoaster season", with six sides still in with a chance of winning the title ahead of kick-off on Saturday.

Truro's fate was in their own hands but Askey's side had to beat St Albans, who themselves needed a positive result to give them any chance of avoiding relegation, and hope that Torquay, who started the day level on points with the Cornish side but with a slightly inferior goal difference, didn't better their winning margin by more than two goals. Meanwhile, the likes of Eastbourne Borough, Worthing, Boreham Wood and Dorking Wanderers, who all started the day within three points of the league leaders, were all poised should the front two slip up.

Yet if the Tinners were feeling any nerves ahead of one of the biggest day's in the club's history, they didn't show it as they raced into a three-goal lead inside 10 minutes against the relegation-threatened Saints, with strikes from Luke Jephcott, Dominic Johnson-Fisher and Tyler Harvey firing Askey's side into a commanding position. St Albans salvaged a vestige of hope in their own fight against the drop when Harrison Smith pulled one back in the 28th minute but Truro responded almost instantaneously, making it 4-1 through Connor Riley-Lowe.

Yet things still hung in the balance as news filtered through that, over in Devon, Torquay had established a three-goal lead of their own over Hemel Hempstead. Things started to get tense at the Truro Sports Hub when St Albans substitute Shaun Jeffers made it 4-2 12 minutes from time, meaning that another Torquay goal would have seen the sides draw level on goal difference. As the clock ticked down, long-serving striker Andrew Neal cannoned an effort off the inside of the post and in to make it 5-2 and secure Askey's side the narrowest of title wins in front of a record home crowd of more than 3,500 fans.

It has been a remarkable few years for Truro, who were crowned FA Vase winners in 2007 but have had to contend with the loss of their ground and the threat of footballing oblivion since then. Indeed, their title win comes a year after they were playing their home games at Gloucester City's ground, a round trip of 390 miles. Under former owner Kevin Heaney, the Tinners stormed up the West Country regional leagues, securing five promotions in six seasons before being crowned Vase champions, becoming the first side to win a final at the newly-rebuilt Wembley Stadium. Truro reached what is now the National League South in 2011 but their fortunes took a turn for the worse as Heaney's property development business suffered in the global economic crisis, entering administration in August 2012. The Cornish side were mere hours from being expelled from the league when local businessmen Peter Masters and Phillip Perryman stepped in to save them in October. After bouncing between the National League South and the Southern League, the club's Treyew Road home was sold to developers and Truro embarked on a challenging nomadic existence.

In 2019, Cornish Pirates rugby club bought Truro with the aim of building the Stadium for Cornwall, a venue capable of hosting both sides. When development finally began in 2020, the Tinners were left homeless and were forced to groundshare with the likes of Torquay, Plymouth Parkway and Gloucester City. In the end, Truro opted to go their own way after they were taken over by Canadian investors, returning to Cornwall for the first time in four years last August at a new purpose-built ground. Less than 12 months later and the Tinners have written themselves into Cornish footballing history despite having one of the league's smallest budgets.

It's been a remarkable journey for Askey, too. The 60-year-old led Macclesfield to the National League title despite off-field issues that would result in the club's eventual demise and steered York to the National League North crown; his triumph with Truro means he has now won all three National League divisions. Of course, Pools fans will know all about Askey from his spell at the Prestige Group Stadium. He was appointed Pools boss in February 2023 but was unable to stave off the threat of relegation despite a run of eight matches unbeaten at the start of his tenure. He led Pools to the top of the National League five games into their return to the fifth division but a series of injuries proved his undoing and he was sacked on December 30 with Pools languishing in 17th. Despite a difficult spell in the North East, he is held in high regard by many Pools fans and can expect to receive a warm welcome when he returns next season.

Truro are set to embark on a remarkable amount of travelling next term, with the long trip to Pools among their most arduous of the season. The journey to Gateshead, however, is set to be their longest of the campaign, providing of course that the Heed don't go up via the National League play-offs; indeed, the 920-mile round trip will become the longest away day in English football.

"It's been a rollercoaster season," Askey told BBC Sport.

"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 just really pleased for Truro and all of Cornwall.

"I'll probably have to renew my passport and get a visa. How we're going to navigate that I don't know, but we'll have to sort it out - it's a nice problem to have."

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