Truro City 3 - Maidstone United 1, Truro City 0 - Yeovil Town 2

City have all but secured their National League South status for another season after a dominant and deserved victory over Maidstone United on Saturday, writes Gareth Davies.

Tyler Harvey passed the 50-goal mark in Step Two football for City with a brace, while Dan Sullivan was also on the mark, his third of the campaign.

Maidstone saw their hopes of finishing in second or third, and thus avoiding a play-off quarter-final, severely dented after a tepid showing.

With the game in its dying embers, the FA Cup giant killers did score through Raphe Brown, but it was a mere consolation as City had already secured a fine win.

The hosts made nine changes to the side which lost 2-0 to champions Yeovil Town at Meadow Park on Thursday evening for this, City’s fourth game of the week.

James Hamon was the only player to line-up in every Truro side over the previous seven days and he continued between the sticks against Maidstone.

Despite City’s dominance in the first 20 minutes, it was Maidstone who perhaps should have broken the deadlock when captain Sam Corne saw his low effort hit the post with Hamon beaten.

The follow up from Jephte Tanga was then turned onto the bar by Hamon and City, somehow, saw their goal remain intact.

This was as good as it got for Maidstone until injury-time at the end of the match as City were totally dominant from this point forwards.

After 26 minutes, Rooney glided into the box, escaping the clutches of several would-be Maidstone defenders to feed Harvey. The former Argyle striker shifted the ball out of his feet to fire home low into the bottom corner past the dive of Covolan.

It got even better for City ten minutes later when Maidstone once again pressed the self-destruct button.

A long clearance from Hamon was left to bounce and Neal managed to control superbly, he turned on the edge of the box but lost possession. But Maidstone gifted the ball to Sullivan who made no mistake for the second Saturday in succession at Meadow Park.

That was Sullivan’s last action of the game as he was withdrawn with a tight hamstring shortly after and was replaced by James Melhado.

Granted the visitors enjoyed more of the ball in the second half, but they could not breach a staunch City rearguard.

As time ticked on, Neal broked free and was in on goal, only to be denied by a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Sam Bone.

The points were wrapped up for City three minutes from time when substitute Dom Johnson-Fisher was fouled inside the box by Brown, who was booked for his troubles.

Up stepped Harvey to emphatically dispatch by sending Covolan the wrong way, his 51st National League South goal in a City shirt.

That wasn’t the end of the goalmouth action though as Brown then was in the thick of things at the other end. He managed to force the ball through the clutches of Hamon and into the net but there was to be no unlikely comeback.

Two days earlier, on Thursday, Truro City’s second game in 24 hours ended in defeat as Yeovil Town clinched a return back to the National League.

Yeovil, who needed just a point after defeat to Worthing in their previous game, started off in positive fashion, but were dealt a blow after just nine minutes when Jordan Stevens broke down and was replaced by Jordan Young.

Rhys Murphy glanced home a cross to put the visitors in front, and Yeovil nearly doubled their advantage on the 20-minute mark when Charlie Cooper crossed for Fisher to head goalward. It was similar to Murphy’s opener, but Hamon pulled off an unbelievable save to keep the score at 1-0. Yeovil then seemingly wrapped up the points in the second stanza when Michael Smith crossed for Fisher to beat Hamon with another headed effort.

At the final whistle, joyous scenes erupted at Meadow Park with Yeovil’s fans taking part in a customary promotion pitch invasion.