CARDIFF BACK TO DRAWING BOARD AFTER A SLOPPY OPENING DEFEAT
LEWIS Hamilton took his seventh pole position in nine races this season at the first Tuscan Grand Prix.
The world champion beat Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by just 0.059 seconds on Formula 1’s first competitive experience of the spectacular Mugello circuit.
Red Bull locked out the second row, Max Verstappen ahead of Alex Albon.
And Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari something to celebrate at their 1,000th grand prix with fifth place.
Bottas had topped all three practice sessions and Hamilton looked to be on the back foot heading into qualifying.
But Hamilton was quickest in the second session by 0.013secs and he extended his margin on the first laps of the top-10 shootout.
Hamilton did not improve on his final lap, and Bottas’ hopes of doing so were dashed when Renault’s Esteban Ocon had a spin and brought out yellow flags.
Hamilton said: “I have been working hard in the background to improve on my lines and set-up and I got the lap I needed.”
CARDIFF City slumped to an opening-day defeat after Josh Windass and Jordan Rhodes goals earned Sheffield Wednesday a 2-0 victory in the Welsh capital.
It is not the start Neil Harris will have wanted for his team, buoyed by reaching the play-off semi-finals only a matter of weeks ago.
But after a disappointing and sloppy display at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, the Bluebirds will have to go back to the drawing board.
The new season had kicked off before Cardiff themselves trailing.
An errant pass from Leandro Bacuna in the middle of the park allowed Izzy Brown to intercept and slot a lively ball through the heart of the Bluebirds’ defence for Josh Windass.
The Owls man looked up and slotted his chance calmly beyond Alex Smithies, burying it in the bottom corner, to give the visitors an early lead.
Cardiff, though, looked composed and bounced back strongly after the goal, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and territory, but just lacked that killer instinct.
Sheyi Ojo, who looked lively on the City right-hand side, dragged a half chance just wide before Will Vaulks hit one on the swivel from barely found range, but Cameron Dawson collected it comfortably.
The game settled into a rhythm thereafter, Cardiff looked to break down the Owls’ defence but the visitors remained organised and stern.
Neil Harris’ side were dominating the ball but simply could not carve out any big chances, despite Sean Morrison and Kieffer Moore looking dangerous from Will Vaulks’ long throw-ins.
But, just before half-time, Wednesday produced a body blow completely against the run of play.
Barry Bannan dinked a lovely free-kick into the box, where Dominic Iorfa rose to head powerfully across the box. Windass then flicked it on before Jordan Rhodes poked home from point-blank range to double the lead.
It was more of the same after the break, Cardiff found themselves with a lot of the ball but with very few ideas.
As the hosts attempted to work their way up the pitch they were sloppy in possession and uncertain in what they wanted to do.
Wednesday employed a low block and, try as they might, the Bluebirds did not have the arsenal to blow down the barricades.
Harris called for reinforcements late on, introducing Robert Glatzel, Josh Murphy and Lee Tomlin around the hour-mark, but none of them could really make the desired impact.
The Bluebirds have, just as they did last season, started with a defeat. But it is the five unanswered goals in two games, following the Carabao Cup drubbing by Northampton Town last week, which will be cause for most concern.
They barely bothered the Owls’ goal and that is something which will have to be addressed. City will need to find their shooting boots - and quickly.
SAMERON Dool hammered home a candidate for goal of the season in the 94th minute to save newly crowned champions Connah’s Quay Nomads from what seemed certain defeat on the opening day of their title defence in the JD Cymru Premier League.
Nathan Peate’s back header, that flew over the head of Nomads goalkeeper Lewis Brass from the edge of the penalty box, had given Bala Town a 1-0 lead after only 21 minutes. It was no less than the visitors deserved for their bright start and will have been a real confidence boost ahead of their trip to Belgium to meet Standard Liege in the second qualifying round of the Uefa Europa League on Thursday.
The Nomads are also in European action this week, hosting Georgian champions Dinamo Tbilisi in the same competition, and Dool’s screamer will have given boss Andy Morrison something to rally around ahead of that encounter.
Three second half goals allowed former champions The New Saints to warm-up perfectly for their Europa League trip to the Faroe Islands this week. It was very much business as usual for them as Adrian Cielewicz