THE WHITE Tigers succumbed to a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Concord Rangers in our rearranged League encounter.
It was a cagey opening with chances at a premium at either end. A foul on Tyler Harvey with 11 minutes on the clock gave us a free-kick which River Allen delivered invitingly only for Brandon Diau to appear to be impeded as he went for the ball but the referee allowed play to continue.
The visitors had their first sight of goal with Lee Minshull firing over from just outside the area before another purposeful raid ended with Connor Riley-Lowe clearing off the line.
It was a real let-off for us but our resistance was broken just before the half-hour when Alex Wall was able to find the net amidst some defensive hesitation.
As we looked to hit back, Chris Regis was off target with a strike whilst Jared Lewington saw a header comfortably saved by Beasant after some good work out wide by Riley-Lowe.
We were hit with a sucker-punch right on the stroke of half-time when Jack Midson was able to guide the ball home.
But rather than let our heads drop, we went straight on the attack and won a penalty which Harvey stepped up to fire confidently home to make it 2-1.
It put a spring in our step for the start of the second period but after seeing more of the early ball, we conceded a third goal on 55 minutes as Ashford got his name on the scoresheet.
Buoyed by the goal Midson was denied by a brave block before our task was made even more difficult when we were reduced to ten men as Diau received his marching orders leaving us to face the final 25 minutes with a man less.
We continued to work hard for each other as the clock ticked down but found the visitors’ defence in stubborn mood to protect their lead. Allen flashed an effort wide of the target before Dan Rooney saw an effort cannon off the crossbar as Harvey headed the rebound over with Beasant floundering.
In the end we couldn’t find any way back as our opponents took all three points back to Essex.

TRURO CITY: Alexis Jr, Thompson, Riley-Lowe, Grimes, Richards, Booth, Regis (D. Rooney 57), Allen (Rowthorn 74), Diau, Harvey, Lewington (Palfrey 69). Subs not used: Warwick, Copp.
BOOKING(S): Allen
RED CARD: Diau
GOAL(S): Harvey (pen).
ATTENDANCE: 416.

PHOTO: Josh Miller.