Truro City 0 - Brackley Town 2

Truro City’s FA Cup hopes were ended by Brackley Town on Saturday with the National League North outfit claiming a 2-0 win, writes Gareth Davies.

The damage was done inside the opening 30 minutes with striker Connor Hall netting twice for the Northamptonshire outfit.

And but for an inspired performance from City custodian Dan Lavercombe, Hall could and perhaps should have claimed the matchball before half-time.

City huffed and puffed for a way back into proceedings but Lavercombe’s opposite number Jonny Maxted, was a mere spectator for long periods.

After the turnaround, Morgan Roberts had two good chances to make the game safe but a combination of Lavercombe and poor finishing came to Truro’s rescue.

Tinners boss John Askey made three changes to his starting line-up that was defeated 1-0 by Eastbourne Borough last time out.

Pharell Johnson made his Truro bow in place of Sam Sanders while Scott Burgess made his full debut as Yassine En-Neyah dropped to the bench.

In attack, four-goal Jaze Kabia partnered leading scorer Tyler Harvey with Dom Johnson-Fisher amongst the seven home substitutes, which included Dan Rooney for the first time this term.

Looking for a first FA Cup win for three years, City made a cagey start with the visitors keeping their powder dry too, inside the first 20 minutes.

However, the game changed when Brackley’s outstanding midfielder Tommy O’Sullivan robbed Will Dean of the ball, feeding Hall who finished well.

Hall then doubled his own personal tally and the Saints’ lead after 28 minutes when he finished off low into the box from Roberts’ cross.

A shell-shocked home side then had their first sight of goal when Dean picked up the scraps from his own corner to fire over the bar.

At the other end, Hall was twice denied by Lavercombe and winger Matt Lowe acrobatically shot wide when well placed.

Added time in the first half resulted in Truro coming close to halving the arrears, but Harvey saw his shot blocked in the six-yard box.

Just three minutes after the resumption, Roberts fired across Lavercombe’s goal when well-placed before captain Gareth Dean had a header cleared off the line by Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain.

With the hour mark approaching, City made a triple change and sacrificed a defender for more attacking might, but Brackley stood firm.

Johnson headed a Dean corner wide and Harvey could only find the arms of Maxted before substitute Scott Pollock did everything but finish after surging into the box.

The final whistle saw City’s strained relationship with the FA Cup continue whilst for Brackley, who have reached the first round proper five times since first negotiating the qualifying rounds in 2007, they go into the hat for Monday’s draw.

City: Lavercombe, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Harrison (Kuleya, 57), Johnson (Johnson-Fisher, 88), Love-Holmes, Dean, Burgess (En-Neyah, 57), Palfrey (Rooney, 73), Riley-Lowe (Law, 57), Kabia, Harvey. Subs not used: Jones, Sanders.

Brackley: Maxted, Dean, Bates, Newton, Roberts (Pollock, 78), Lowe, Lyttle, O’Sullivan, Lilly, Craig, Hall (Cross, 90). Subs not used: Worby, Byrne.

Referee: Steve Swan Attendance: 1,016