Tyler Harvey's Return: Key to Truro City's Success
John Askey is banking on a familiar source to fire Truro City back in the right direction – a fully fit Tyler Harvey.
The 31-year-old striker, who terrorised defences with 25 goals in Truro’s title-winning National League South campaign in 2024-25, opened this season with the club’s first goal of the new campaign in a 2-0 win over Maidenhead United last Saturday.
Two years ago, Harvey was the spearhead of a remarkable rise, driving the Cornish side from the seventh tier to a historic first season in the National League. Last term, though, told a different story. Injury bit hard. He managed just five goals in 25 appearances as Truro slipped back into the sixth tier.
Askey is convinced that tale can change – if Harvey’s body holds up.
“Tyler, for the majority of the season last season wasn’t properly fit,” the Truro boss told BBC Radio Cornwall, laying bare the frustration of a campaign that never truly got going for his main marksman.
The message now is simple: keep him on the pitch.
“We’re just hoping that he can stay fit for all the season because he does make a difference to us,” Askey said. “He’s proven time and time again in this league that he can get goals which are going to be vital for us.”
Harvey’s value, in Askey’s eyes, stretches beyond the numbers in the goals column. The former Plymouth Argyle youngster links play, drags defenders out of position and sets chances up for others.
“He’s got a good football brain,” Askey added, looking ahead to Saturday’s trip to Chelmsford City. “Not only does he get goals, he creates chances for other people as well and when he’s on full form he makes a big difference to us.”
So the plan for Truro this time is as much medical as tactical. Manage Harvey’s workload. Protect him between games. Squeeze every minute possible out of a forward who has already shown he can dominate this division.
“We just have to manage his injuries and hopefully he’ll play the majority of the games,” Askey said.
If they get that right, Truro’s route back up the pyramid might just run through the right boot of Tyler Harvey once again.
