John Askey criticises Truro City display after Walton & Hersham draw

John Askey delivered a scathing assessment of Truro City's performance despite seeing them snatch a late point against Walton & Hersham. Luke Jephcott's goal in the eighth minute of added time earned a 1-1 draw at home on Saturday, but the manager was far from satisfied.

"We talked about it before the game, about doing things right," Askey told reporters. "It was probably our worst performance (of the season)." He said his team had plenty of possession but were too slow with it, and their movement was not good enough. The frustration turned to alarm just past the 80-minute mark when Walton & Hersham took a shock lead. Junior Dixon won a tussle on the left and sent a low cross into the box for Paul Osew to finish, a goal Askey labelled a "sucker punch" and said should not have happened.

The task got harder soon after when striker Omar Bogle was sent off for kicking out at his marker. Down to ten men, Truro kept pushing and their persistence was rewarded in dramatic fashion. In the dying seconds, a long throw from Cristian Oxlade-Chamberlain was met on the edge of the area by Ryan Law. His shot took a decisive deflection off Jephcott and flew into the net. "It’s the only thing we can take out of the game," Askey said of the never-say-die spirit.

The result extends Truro's unbeaten start at home in the National League South this season. They currently sit fifth in the table with 14 points from seven games, having scored 11 goals and conceded just three. Their recent form shows three wins, a draw and a loss from their last five outings.

Askey now demands a sharp improvement for Tuesday's home game against Salisbury. He acknowledged that other results have gone in their favour, keeping them in touch with the leaders, but insists the performance levels must rise. The late equaliser provided a reprieve, but the manager's message was clear: the standards set in earlier wins were missing.