Fernandez makes Chelsea debut but fails to impact outcome

tion commenced with play in the 56-64 division with Trinidadian John Holly defeating Sanjay Amin from Barbados 11-8, 11-5,11-2; Ron Edwards got the better of John Astleford 11-6, 1012, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7; Mark Sealy beat fellow Barbadian Peter Harris 11,5, 11-1, 11-1 and Joseph Mekdeci beat Lloyd Fung-a-Fat 11-4, 1210, 11-8.

In the 45-54 division T&T’s Peter Pirtheesingh beat Guyana’s Khalil Ali 116, 11-3, 6-11, 11-6.

court.

Fernandes is no stranger to playing in the Men’s category; in 2010 she won both the Men and Women’s titles and also played among the Guys in 2017 National Open Championships.

The Caribbean Squash Queen displayed excellent Court awareness and retrieval skills and won the first two games 11-2 and 11-5.

Pollard came out in the third with renewed energy and took the early lead with some quality Squash as he threated to take match in a fourth game.

But Fernandes, aided by some lose work by Pollard, won the game and match 3-0 with a hard fought 11-9 win in game three.

Thursday Evening’s ac-

In the other Men’s 3044 matches, Jason van Dirk disposed of fellow Guyanese Reagan Rodrigues 11-5, 114, 11-4; Bajan Shawn Simpson beat Jonathan Antczak 11-7, 11-1, 11-2; Alex Arjoon beat Javid Rahaman 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 and Daniel Ince defeated Nicholas Narain 11-3, 11-7, 11-1.

In the Women’s over-35s Lydia Fraser beat Vincentian Hazel-Anne Sandy 11-6, 11-3, 11-2, while Guyana’s Kathy Ten Pow beat Canadian Anna Perreira 11-0, 11-0, 11-1.

The tournament was scheduled to continue last night and climax with the finals today.

Russell fireworks fail to spur Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

nine games.

West Indies all-rounder Russell made a fist of it, however, lashing 42 from 22 balls with five fours and two sixes but lacked support. Opener Joe Clarke was the only other batsman to pass 20 with 22 from 17 deliveries.

The West Indies trio of Brandon King (19), captain Sunil Narine (11) and Akeal Hosein (0) all failed, with veteran former West Indies medium pacer Dwayne Bravo slicing through the innings with three for 37 from four overs.

paced their innings well from the outset. Waseem, who struck one four and half-dozen sixes, put on 35 for the first wicket with Fletcher before adding a further 87 for the second wicket with Tucker.

(BBC) - BRITISH record signing Enzo Fernandez made his Chelsea debut but could not help his new side claim only their second win of 2023 as they were held by Fulham at Stamford Bridge.

Argentina midfielder Fernandez completed a £107m move to the Blues from Benfica three days ago and Graham Potter opted to hand him an immediate start.

He made a solid impression and almost enjoyed a dream debut when his curled effort flew just wide of the post in the second half.

Kai Havertz also went close before the break when his lobbed effort from Hakim Ziyech’s superb pass clipped the woodwork before the ball was cleared off the line, while debutant David Datro Fofana had a shot cleared off the line late on after showing great control to wrong-foot the goalkeeper.

But overall Chelsea did not do enough to earn the win as they again struggled to create real goal scoring chances, finishing the game with just three shots on target.

Fulham fully deserved the point after a superb defensive display and move up to sixth in the table, three places and two points above Chelsea

New faces, same issues for Chelsea

Chelsea owner, Todd Boehly spent big during January, with the £288m outlay eclipsing the £270m spent in the summer, to ensure Potter has the players to push for a top-four finish in the second half of the season.

The biggest of the purchases was Fernandez. The World Cup winner has enjoyed a meteoric rise since moving to Benfica from River Plate for £8.8m last summer and has been bought by Chelsea to strengthen their midfield.

He provided a hint of what is to come from him against Fulham, topping the stats for most touches (59) and most tackles (five) than any other player in the first half, and came as close as anyone to breaking the deadlock with his shot from outside the box in the second half.

CMC – ANDRE Russell’s fireworks made little difference as winless Abu Dhabi Knight Riders stretched their losing streak to eight games with an 18-run defeat to Kieron Pollard’s MI Emirates here Friday.

Handed 181 as a target at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Knight Riders collapsed for 162 at the start of the final over, to remain rooted at the bottom of the standings in the International League T20 with a single point from

For Emirates, the victory was their fifth and left them on 11 points in third place – only three points off leaders Desert Vipers.

Sent in, they mustered 180 for four from their 20 overs, with opener Muhammad Waseem top-scoring with 60 from 43 deliveries and Pollard smashing 17-ball 43.

Lorcan Tucker, with 33, and West Indies opener Andre Fletcher, 22, played supporting roles as Emirates

When Waseem and Tucker fell to successive deliveries in successive overs with no addition to the score at 122 for three at the start of the 16th over, Pollard arrived to rally the innings, belting four fours and three sixes to dominate a 56-run, fourth wicket partnership with fellow Trinidadian and former West Indies white-ball captain, Nicholas Pooran (10 not-out).

In reply, Knight Riders were in early trouble at 53 for three in the seventh over before Russell entered to inspire a 27-run, fourth wicket stand with Clarke and a 34-run partnership with Connor Esterhuizen (17).

But once Russell flayed a Zahoor Khan (2-33) full toss to Waseem at deep mid-wicket, all Knight Riders’ hopes disappeared with him.

Fellow January arrivals Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke and Fofana also featured in the game and while they had varying degrees of impact, Chelsea’s long-running issue in front of goal was once again laid bare.

It took the hosts well over an hour to manage a shot on target, with the Blues - who started the game without a traditional striker - falling well short in the final third.

Fofana suggested he could improve that during his short time on the pitch, superbly rounding the goalkeeper late on before his goal-bound effort was cleared by Tim Ream, but they have now scored just two goals in their last six matches - a statistic that needs to improve quickly if they are to move higher up the table.

An impressive away display

Fulham have been exceptional since the World Cup, winning more games than any other side in the Premier League, and this performance highlighted why they are a serious threat for a finish in the European places.

Marco Silva’s side were disciplined in their shape, frustrating the hosts as they struggled to find a way through the defence, and also carried a threat in attack themselves.

A bit more conviction from Willian and Bobby De Cordova-Reid with their shots in the second half and they may have come away with the win, but this was a very solid three points that keeps the Blues below them in the table.