Group C favorites England, USA battle to draw in Rustenburg

Soccer Betting Lines

06/12/2010 - Rustenburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England and the United States battled to a 1-1 draw Saturday at Royal Bafokeng Stadium to open World Cup Group C play for both teams.

England got a goal from midfielder Steven Gerrard in the first five minutes, and U.S. right winger Clint Dempsey fired a shot off England goalkeeper Robert Green just before the first-half break that could go down as one of the worst goals of the tournament.

Both teams are tied atop Group C with a point apiece, with the other two teams in the group, Algeria and Slovenia, set to square off on Sunday in Polokwane.

The Three Lions put the U.S. on its heels early with Gerrard's third career World Cup goal after some horrendous defending by the red, white and blue.

After a throw-in from the right side, England midfielder Frank Lampard played a ball toward goal that found forward Emile Heskey. Heskey's one-time pass found Gerrard, who took a touch into the area before placing a shot just past U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard and inside the right post.

Gerrard was left wide open on the fourth-minute goal after he ran in behind U.S. midfielder Ricardo Clark.

The U.S. recovered after the early goal and had a chance to pull even about 15 minutes later when a Landon Donovan service to the top of the England six-yard box was narrowly missed by striker Jozy Altidore.

The two teams traded chances in the next 10 minutes, with U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo breaking up a teasing ball into the U.S. area, and an Oguchi Onyewu header going just wide of the England net off a Donovan free kick in the 27th minute.

The U.S. faithful held their breath just after the half-hour mark when Howard, one of the top goalkeepers in the world, went down after being spiked on a fair challenge by Heskey with the ball sliding through the area. But after a brief stay on the turf, Howard got to his feet and play resumed.

The U.S., which started to find its feet in the closing minutes of the half, saw a Donovan chance go just wide about three minutes before Dempsey's gift goal in the 40th.

Dempsey took control of the ball just outside the England area fired a left- footed shot right off the hands of Green, who watched the ball trickle over the goal line. Dempsey has scored the last two World Cup goals for the U.S. after scoring against Ghana in the group stage in Germany in 2006.

Howard, who made seven saves in the game, came up with a big one shortly after the interval when an Aaron Lennon through-ball beat the U.S. defense and gave Heskey an open shot from 18 yards out. Howard ate up the hard shot, however, as Heskey failed to pick a corner and shot right at the U.S. 'keeper.

The U.S.'s best chance of the second half occurred just after the hour mark when Altidore muscled around England defender Jamie Carragher and fired on goal from close range, but Green got just enough to deflect the shot off the post.

England striker Wayne Rooney, considered one of the best strikers in the world, got his first touch in a dangerous area about 20 minutes from time when his header off a Gerrard cross went well wide.

Rooney had another dangerous chance when his powerful strike went just wide of the right post in the 75th minute.

Rooney then laid off a ball to Shaun Wright-Phillips in the area about a minute later that Howard parried out-of-bounds.

The U.S. slowed the game down thereafter and the match ended in the 1-1 draw.

The USA plays Slovenia on June 18 in its next Group C match, while England will face Algeria later the same day in its next fixture.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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