Arnaud leads Kansas City to draw at Philadelphia

Soccer Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Davy Arnaud scored in the 70th minute and the Kansas City Wizards tied the Philadelphia Union, 1-1, on Saturday afternoon in Major League Soccer at PPL Park.

Arnaud had a goal and an assist last week to lead K.C. to a 2-0 win at the Los Angeles Galaxy, and helped the Wizards earn another road result - their fourth in their last five away matches - with his fourth goal of the season.

Kansas City (7-9-6) extended its recent run of success, moving to 2-1-2 in its last five road matches and 4-1-3 in its last eight overall.

Philadelphia (5-11-6) got a first-half goal from Sebastien Le Toux, who leads the team with 10 goals, but failed to hold onto the lead. The Union don't have a shutout all season.

Stefani Miglioranzi came within inches of handing Philadelphia the lead in the 26th when his 35-yard shot hit the left post. Le Toux forced K.C. goalie Jimmy Nielsen to make a save two minutes later.

Le Toux followed with the opening goal of the game when he converted an assist from rookie Danny Mwanga. Justin Mapp, who scored in stoppage time last week to lift Philadelphia to a 2-1 win at New England, helped set up the first goal with a pass down the left to Mwanga.

Mwanga, who leads all rookies with seven goals, did most of the work from that point, driving in from the left wing before slipping a pass into the middle to Le Toux in the 30th. Le Toux finished from six yards to easily beat Nielsen.

Arnaud nearly set up the equalizer before half, but Shavar Thomas just missed getting good contact off a header that Union goalie Chris Seitz saved.

K.C. had another chance in the first minute of the second half, but Ryan Smith failed to get a shot off despite driving past Seitz, as Philadelphia defender Michael Orozco Fiscal made a sliding tackle to prevent a sure goal.

Mapp nearly turned another pass from Mwanga into the Union's second goal, but Nielsen deflected his shot to send it wide right in the 53rd.

Mwanga and K.C.'s Birahim Diop traded chances in the next 10 minutes, then Le Toux forced a save from Nielsen in the 66th.

K.C. finally rewarded Nielsen, who finished with five saves, in the 70th when Arnaud scored the tying goal directly off a free kick. Arnaud took the attempt from outside the left edge of the penalty area and drove it over traffic, then Seitz, and into the upper-right corner.

Wizards rookie Teal Bunbury had the best chance for either side over the final 20 minutes, but his shot from a tight angle in the 77th minute was handled by Seitz, who made his fourth save of the match.

Philadelphia hosts the Chicago Fire on Sept. 11 in its next match. Kansas City is off until Sept. 19, when it visits Chivas USA.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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