DOMINIC Johnson-Fisher’s 85th minute strike settled a pulsating National League Cup clash as Truro City edged out Southampton by the odd goal in five.

In front of the competition’s third highest ever attendance for a group game of 1,909, Johnson-Fisher flicked home at the near post from a Ben Starkie cross, to give Truro a deserved win.

The young Saints more than played their part in proceedings, twice pegging City back with home full-back Tylor Love-Holmes having a night he will never forget, in scoring at both ends and claiming an assist too.

As expected, home boss John Askey made wholesale changes to the side that faced Wealdstone on the opening day with Starkie, Jake Taylor, Lirak Hasani, Max Kinsey and goalkeeper Aidan Stone all handed full debuts.

For Southampton, with Matt Etherington, one of Cornish football’s finest recent exports on their coaching staff, they named a side which only contained one player aged 20 and above – midfielder Cameron Bragg.

Truro started well and they took the lead after seven minutes, albeit in fortunate circumstances when Love-Holmes’ right wing cross caught the wind and looped over stranded visiting custodian Dylan Moody.

The Saints stopper then made up for his error of judgment by denying Taylor at the near post and at the other end, lively midfielder Moses Sessay saw his deflected free-kick pushed onto the bar by Stone.

Luke Jephcott then tried his luck from distance and wasn’t far away with a free-kick before out of absolutely nowhere, Southampton levelled.

Sessay broke through the middle of the park and Love-Holmes, coming back on the cover, slid in to win the ball. However, his intervention saw the ball loop over Stone and into the net from fully 40 yards.

Despite this bizarre goal, home heads didn’t drop and Hasani almost found the top corner with a curler before Starkie’s on-target shot was deflected behind by some last-ditch defending.

At the other end, Nick Oyekunie broke through and when faced with just Stone to beat, he shot without real power and conviction, thus ensuring a rare Southampton foray forward didn’t reap any rewards.

As the interval approached, City went ahead for a second time with Love-Holmes in the thick of the action once more. A cross from the left was retrieved by the former Saltash man and his ball back into the danger area picked out Jephcott, who found the bottom corner with pin-point accuracy.

After the turnaround, the opening 10 minutes were very cat and mouse until City found another gear to create a host of presentable chances. Firstly, Love-Holmes burst into the box, choosing to unselfishly square to Starkie who couldn’t turn home.

Starkie was then denied by the legs of Moody and for Southampton, Sessay, the visitors’ stand out performer, was off target after a neat turn.

With 21 minutes left, out of absolutely nowhere, Southampton levelled when a Bragg corner was headed back across goal and into the bottom corner by substitute Will Armitage.

Love-Holmes then had another should I cross, should I shoot moment and after pulling the trigger this time, was thwarted by Moody at his near post.

Both teams emptied their collective benches as time ticked down with one of those, Johnson-Fisher, winning the match with his first of the season and second in consecutive competitive games at the TCS.

In stoppage time, the only negative from the whole evening from a City point of view, saw Kinsey suffer a head knock, which forced him off after a long period of treatment.

TRURO CITY: Stone, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Law, 63), Kinsey (Adelsbury, 90), Sanders; Love-Holmes (Bell, 78), Hasani (Sanogo, 78), Palfrey (En-Neyah, 45), Riley-Lowe (capt); Starkie, Jephcott (Johnson-Fisher, 74). Sub not used: Lavercombe.