Australia tops Ghana for first World Cup win

Soccer Betting Lines

09/12/2007 - Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australia won its first ever Women's World Cup contest on Wednesday as Lisa De Vanna scored twice to lead the Matildas to a thorough 4-1 win over Ghana in their opening contest in Group C.

Australia had gone 0-7-2 in its previous nine World Cup encounters, including a loss and a draw with Ghana, but got this campaign off to a strong start as Sarah Walsh grabbed the opener and Heather Garriock scored in the 69th minute between De Vanna's two goals.

Anita Amenuku scored the lone goal for Ghana, which has never advanced past the group stage in a Women's World Cup and will have trouble doing so in this edition either after the loss.

The first half was played at a slow pace with both teams content to knock the ball around and show little flair in attack.

Ghana produced the first chance of the game five minutes in as Florence Okoe got on the other end of a through-ball and held off her defender to create room for a shot. She drove the ball low and past the keeper but pulled it wide of the far post.

Walsh looked dangerous throughout the match for Australia and had an opportunity to get the Matildas on the scoreboard in the 12th minute. She was played into the box on the right but Ghana keeper Memunatu Sulemana cut down the angle and stopped the shot from close range.

Three minutes later, Walsh made the most of her second chance to put Australia ahead. A driven cross from the right was knocked down inside the area by Caitlin Munoz, and she played a pass back to Walsh, who quickly smacked a shot on goal that left the keeper standing.

Australia slowed things down in the middle part of the half, but should have gone up two goals in the 32nd minute. A cross through the face of goal found Munoz wide open at the back post, but she missed badly as the ball flew well wide off the side of her foot.

The Matildas came out strong after the restart with De Vanna hitting the crossbar from the edge of the area, and Joanne Peters heading wide of the target from close range.

The pressure continued to mount with Sally Shipard providing a nice cross for Garriock at the back post. Garriock slid and turned a shot toward goal but the ball sailed over the top.

Walsh continued to find the ball in space, and in the 57th minute, set up Australia's second goal. Walsh dashed down the wing on the right and slid a low cross through the box to De Vanna, who did a poor job with the finish by knocking it at the keeper. However, Sulemana was on the move and the ball deflected off of her foot and into the net.

Garriock extended the Australia lead to three goals in the 69th minute with a glancing header from the penalty spot, but the Black Queens immediately responded with a goal of their own.

A long ball from midfield was lobbed over the top for Amankwa, and she gained possession of the ball and cut it away from her defender. Amankwa then finished well by driving the ball into the upper right corner to make it 3-1.

De Vanna then added her second goal to effectively put an end to the suspense as she latched onto a ball at the edge of the box and slotted past the keeper, who had come off her line to challenge the shot.

Australia will meet group favorite's Norway on Saturday, while Ghana will look for a more positive result on Saturday against Canada.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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