Gulbrandsen carries Norway to top of Group C

Soccer Betting Lines

09/20/2007 - Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ragnhild Gulbrandsen scored a hat trick as Norway defeated Ghana, 7-2, on Thursday to capture Group C and secure a berth in the World Cup quarterfinals.

Gulbrandsen has five goals and leads the race for the Golden Shoe, which is awarded to the tournament's top scorer.

Norway plays the Group D runners-up, likely Denmark or China, on Sunday as it continues its quest for its second World Cup crown. Norway won the 1995 title.

Ghana joined Argentina as teams that exited the World Cup with three losses in the group stage.

Norway proved early it was going to take control of Thursday's game and after a quick goal, started to pour it on late in the opening half and early in the second half.

Norway scored its first goal just four minutes in off a corner kick. Solveig Gulbrandsen met the cross on the far side of the box and headed it back to the left side. Lene Storlokken received the pass near the left post, settled and fired into the left corner.

After grabbing the early edge, Norway's chances were limited for the next 20 minutes even though it controlled possession.

Solveig Gulbrandsen helped set up Norway's second great scoring chance in the 30th minute when she was involved in a big collision just outside the box that resulted in a free kick. Ingvild Stensland passed into the box to Marit Fiane Christensen, but her header went wide of the left post.

Ghana started to show some life midway through the opening half, creating a few solid scoring chances during a 10-minute stretch. The Black Queens had two breakaways in the box, the second when Rumanatu Tahiru dribbled around Norway goalie Bente Nordby but shot high from a tough angle.

Norway weathered the brief Ghana spurt, and in the 39th minute began to pull away. Defender Siri Nordby set up the second goal with a run down the right side. Nordby passed to Ragnhild Gulbrandsen in the middle of the box, and she converted the easy chance with a shot into the lower right corner. The goal was the 500th in the history of the Women's World Cup.

Norway pushed its edge to three goals on a penalty kick just before halftime. Ane Strangeland Horpestad buried the kick into the upper right corner in the 45th minute.

The Norwegians needed more than 10 minutes to get on the board again in the second half, but it was the first of four goals in a 13-minute stretch.

Isabell Herlovsen scored Norway's fourth goal with a nice individual effort in the box in the 56th minute. She held off Ghana defender Yaa Avoe, and put a shot off the hands of Ghana goalie Gladys Enti and into the right side of the net.

Ragnhild Gulbrandsen scored her second goal of the game in the 59th minute, receiving a cross from Leni Larsen Kaurin, who had drawn Ghana's goalie off the line, and finishing into an empty net with a header.

She completed the hat trick in the 62nd minute, this time finding the end of a Camilla Huse free kick with a header into the right side of the goal. It was the 12th hat trick in the history of the World Cup.

Norway got its last goal in the 69th minute from Lise Klaveness, who converted from just a few yards out.

Ghana had another spurt late in the match, getting two goals back in the final 17 minutes.

Off a free kick from the top of the box, Adjoa Bayor blasted a shot into the upper left corner. With a teammate lined up to take the shot, Bayor stepped to the ball and hammered it into the net.

The former African Women's Footballer of the Year added her second goal on a penalty kick in the 80th minute. She buried the attempt into the upper right side of the net.

The combined nine goals was the second highest of the tournament, two behind Germany's 11-0 win over Argentina in the Cup opener.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

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Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

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Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

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Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

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Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

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