Le Toux sinks Toronto with late PK

Soccer Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastien Le Toux's penalty kick in the 94th minute helped the Philadelphia Union claim a dramatic 2-1 win over Toronto FC at PPL Park on Saturday.

Toronto equalized nine minutes from time through Chad Barrett to cancel out a 61st-minute goal from Philadelphia's Michael Orozco Fiscal. But the Union's Jack McInerney had his shot blocked by the hand of Toronto's Maksim Usanov in the dying minutes inside the penalty area, giving the Union a penalty kick.

And Le Toux made no mistake from the spot, sending Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei the wrong way to secure all three points.

The result snaps TFC's eight-game unbeaten streak, while Philadelphia continues its good run of play at home this season, winning for the third time in five games.

Philadelphia's Stefani Miglioranzi handed Toronto the first real chance of the match in the 15th minute when his poor pass allowed Barrett to get into the penalty area and fire wide of the upper-left corner of the net.

Le Toux danced past two defenders on the left and cut toward the top of the box before driving a low shot wide, but he set up the best chance of the half for either side in first-half stoppage time.

He collected a throw in near the six-yard box and pulled the ball back to Jordan Harvey, but Harvey's lunging effort came back off the post.

The Union put together a good period of pressure early in the second half and they were rewarded just after the hour mark when Le Toux's corner kick was headed inside the upper-right corner of the net by Orozco Fiscal.

The Reds equalized 20 minutes later as a long throw from Dan Gargan made its way close to the six-yard box and was flicked inside the far post by the head of Barrett.

However, the Union was not satisfied with just one point, and after conceding a stoppage-time winner in a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes last time out, they provided some late heroics of their own to climb off the bottom of the Eastern Conference table.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.