By Gareth Davies at The Mill

Torpoint Athletic 0 Truro City 6

JOHN Askey’s reign as City boss started with a comprehensive friendly win over Western League Premier outfit Torpoint Athletic.

The damage was done in the opening stanza as Askey’s charges found the back of overworked home custodian Ryan Rickard’s net five times.

Striker Andrew Neal led the Tinners’ tally with a hat-trick which included two penalties, while Ryan Law and Will Dean were also on target.

With Askey making nine changes at the break, City scored one further goal after the turnaround when D Trialist, one of five to feature, scored a fine individual effort from the edge of the box to complete the scoring.

Under damp skies and on wet pitch, City began the game with real purpose and took the lead within the first 60 seconds.

Neal charged down an attempted Torpoint clearance and C Trialist was felled in the box. City’s pint-sized hit man placed the ball on the spot to emphatically dispatch past Rickard.

And just two minutes later, Truro had doubled their advantage when Law surged into the box and finished emphatically with his trusty left foot.

Before the game was 20 minutes old, City should have been out of sight as Dean had two goalbound efforts deflected wide, while Dom Johnson-Fisher was denied by Rickard.

A third goal did duly arrive just after the half hour mark when A Trialist, who impressed at right-back, burst into the box and squared to Neal and tapped home.

Torpoint, who are rebuilding under new boss Ryan Fice and assistant Shaun Vincent, offered little going forward but nine minutes before the break, a dangerous free-kick which appeared to be heading for the top corner, was headed clear by Billy Palfrey.

And after weathering the only spell of Torpoint pressure in the entire 90 minutes, City went up the other end and scored two more goals before the break.

Dean, after being denied twice previously in the first 45 minutes, did score when B Trialist found the former Exeter City midfielder and he finished low into the net.

Truro then made it 5-0 in the closing stages of the half when Johnson-Fisher was illegally stopped in his tracks inside the box.

The referee pointed to the spot and Neal, after placing the ball in the left corner with his first spot kick, went to the right this time, but the outcome was the same.

With so many changes at half-time, it was of little surprise that City weren’t quite as free flowing during the second period, but after 56 minutes, D Trialist scored the best goal of the game.

E Trialist picked the ball up wide on the left and cut inside on his right foot. He found D Trialist outside the box, who then unleashed an unstoppable effort that arrowed into the bottom corner past the despairing dive of Rickard.

D Trialist and Tyler Harvey looked to push City towards brackets territory but both were denied by a deflection and Rickard respectively.

With 15 minutes left, the game almost boiled over when Harvey Mullis fouled B Trialist with a poor tackle. If it had been a competitive game, the former Liskeard man would have surely seen red, but he was just cautioned and then wisely substituted shortly after.

Mullis’ former Liskeard team mate Harry Jeffery was also booked as the final stages became scrappy.

City: (first half) Lavercombe, A Trialist, Sanders, Harrison, Law, B Trialist, C Trialist, Dean, Palfrey, Neal, Johnson-Fisher.

City: (second half) Lavercombe (Jones, 76), A Trialist, Adelsbury, Harrison (Fabby, 76), Riley-Lowe, B Trialist (Horton, 76), C Trialist, Rooney, D Trialist, E Trialist, Harvey.