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.

Wwwmybookie Soccer Betting News

<< Rays put OF Kapler on DL
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays have placed outfielder Gabe Kapler on the 15-day disabled list with a right hip flexor strain. Kapler is hitting .217 with a home run and eight runs batted in this sea

<< Cubs swap out relievers with promotion of Atkins
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs have recalled right-hander Mitch Atkins from Triple-A Iowa and optioned lefty James Russell to Iowa. Atkins will look to make his 2010 debut after going 4-2 with a 2.63 earned-run average i

<< Rachel Alexandra garners first win of 2010
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra notched her first victory of the year Saturday in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs. The four-year-old filly snapped a two rac

<< BoSox put Dice-K on DL minutes before start
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just prior to Saturday's contest against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Red Sox placed starter Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm strain. Scott Atchison got the start for

<< Lakers center Bynum says he'll play in Game 5
BOSTON (AP) -Andrew Bynum is altogether clear on this: He'll play in Game 5 of the NBA finals.Beyond that, the key to the Los Angeles Lakers' interior defense - and perhaps the team's championship chances - can't make any promises.``I'm 100 percent

Big 3 have been inconsistent for Celtics >>
BOSTON (AP) -When the Boston Celtics assembled their new Big Three in the summer of 2007, they suddenly had three different options on offense - too many for opponents to handle, it turned out, and the league's most-decorated franchise drove to its

England has more to worry about then just Green >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's safe to say that the English tabloids will come up with all kinds of clever headlines to describe the horrendous goal that Robert Green conceded in the Three Lion's 1-1 draw with the United States on Saturday to open

Diamondbacks activate Montero from DL >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have reinstated catcher Miguel Montero from the 15-day disabled list. The 26-year-old receiver was placed on the DL on April 11 with a right knee sprain and underwent surger

Garrigus goes in front in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Garrigus shot a four-under 66 on Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after the third round of the St. Jude Classic. Garrigus finished 54 holes at 11-under 199 and is two strokes ahead at the TPC South

Almirola holds off Bodine and Busch for Michigan win >>
Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aric Almirola captured his second victory in the Camping World Truck Series by taking Saturday's VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Almirola took the lead for the first time with seven laps t

Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.