Slovakia hopes for better result against Paraguay

Soccer Betting Lines

06/19/2010 - Bloemfontein, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Slovakia manager Vladimir Weiss described a 1-1 draw against New Zealand as a "minor sporting tragedy," but on Sunday, knows complete focus must switch to a crucial match against Paraguay.

Slovakia allowed a 93rd-minute goal to New Zealand's Winston Reid, spoiling an otherwise strong performance in the country's FIFA World Cup debut.

"We were the better team throughout the match," Weiss said. "It's incredibly frustrating, the way we failed to take our chances and then conceded a last- minute equalizer."

"Winning would have been the perfect start, but conceding a goal in the last minute has changed everything," Slovakia midfielder Vladimir Weiss, the coach's son, added.

Slovakia's Robert Vittek, who scored his team's lone goal against New Zealand, believes the squad has no choice but to move on after dropping points against the weakest team in Group F.

"We've put ourselves in an extremely difficult position, but we need to forget about the points we've dropped ... and simply move on," Vittek said.

Slovakia remains in solid position to advance entering the last two matches in group play, since Italy and Paraguay tied 1-1 in the other match.

With Paraguay presenting a big test Sunday at Free State Stadium, Slovakia cannot afford any more letdowns or the knockout round likely won't be an option.

Antolin Alcaraz handed Paraguay a first-half lead against Italy, but the 2006 World Cup winners responded through Daniele De Rossi in the second half of the other opening-round match in Group F.

"We're really pleased to have gone toe-to-toe with the reigning world champions and, above and beyond the result, we're very satisfied with our performance, particularly as it's the start of the World Cup," Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino said.

Midfielder Enrique Vera knows Paraguay must continue to improve to advance and a result against Slovakia would be the first step in the right direction.

"We know that we've got to keep improving," Vera said, "but it was a good result and one we're happy with."

Sprtsline Soccer Betting News

<< Henin rallies to win Wimbledon tuneup
's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justine Henin finished her prep for Wimbledon with a three-set triumph over Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the final at the Unicef Open. The top-seeded Henin rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

<< Cubs sign first-round pick Simpson
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs have signed their top pick of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, pitcher Hayden Simpson, to an undisclosed contract. Simpson, 21, was taken 16th overall in the first round. The right-han

<< Jeter scratched with bruised heel
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was scratched from the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the New York Mets because of a bruised heel. Jeter has battled through a recent slump. He was

<< Elson takes over first at Saint-Omer Open
Lumbres, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England's Jamie Elson shot a three-under 68 on Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after the third round of the Saint- Omer Open. Elson finished 54 holes at seven-under 206 and is one stroke clear at Aa S

<< LeBron makes dramatic appearance at Akron rally
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -With thousands of his hometown fans on hand, LeBron James made a dramatic - and very late - appearance at ``LeBron Appreciation Day.''A crowd estimated at 3,500 had already begun to depart Akron's InfCision Stadium on Saturday when

Edwards captures pole at Road America >>
Elkhart Lake, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards won the pole for Saturday's inaugural Bucyrus 200 Nationwide Series race at Road America. Edwards, currently second in points, recorded a lap of 108.076 m.p.h. around the 4.048-mile, 14-t

Italy faces New Zealand without Buffon >>
Nelspruit, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both Italy and New Zealand enter Sunday's Group F FIFA World Cup contest at Mbombela Stadium on the heels of draws in their opening matches, but their emotions are quite different. The Italia

Brazil, Ivory Coast clash in Group G >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The schedule gets no easier for the Ivory Coast as it gets ready to face Brazil in its second Group G match at Soccer City on Sunday in the FIFA World Cup. A 0-0 draw against Portugal in the ope

Flyers acquire rights to coveted Hamhuis from Predators >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired the rights to pending unrestricted free agent Dan Hamhuis from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Ryan Parent. The Flyers have exclusive negoti

Phillies designate Mathieson, recall Sardinha >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday designated pitcher Scott Mathieson for assignment and selected the contract of catcher Dane Sardinha from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Mathieson appeared in his only

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.