MANAMA, Nov 22, (AFP): Japan beat bitter but familiar foes Bahrain 2-0 for their second successive victory yesterday in a Group C match of the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Japan moved to the top of the group with this victory, which was more emphatic than the score suggests, with six points. Syria are second with three points from their win over Bahrain last month. Malaysia, who lost to Japan 2-0 in the first match, are third and Bahrain fourth, both yet to win a point.
Three groups of four teams are playing home and away in the third round of the qualifiers with the winner of each group qualifying for the Olympics. The second best teams of the third round will play one centralised round-robin tournament and the winners take on a CAF team in a playoff.

Japan took a deserving lead a minute before half-time through Yuki Otsu, who scampered to connect a cross from the right by Takahiro Ogihara which beat Bahrain goalkeeper Salem Abdulla.
Midfielder Keigo Higashi doubled the lead in the 67th minute making the most of another blunder by goalkeeper Abdulla, who failed to collect Naoki Yamada’s feeble attempt from close range.
The ball slipped out of the goalkeeper’s hands and Higashi gleefully tapped the ball in much to the delight of the Japanese expatriate fans who surprisingly outnumbered the locals at the National Stadium.
Japan were clearly the dominant team right from the start with their forwards Otsu and Yuya Osako and overlapping midfielder Naoki Yamada making repeated inroads deep into the Bahrain penalty area.
But the dangerous Otsu, who plies his trade at Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Budesliga, on the left was well marked by defender Mohammed Al Banna and that effectively took the sting out of many Japanese raids.

Yet the one-way traffic harassed the Bahrain defence and kept their goalkeeper Abdulla endlessly busy.
Japan’s dominance of the first-half was evident from the six corners they managed compared to Bahrain’s none.
Bahrain’s best chance came in the 35th minute when midfielder Hesham Nayem unleashed a powerful long ranger which was saved by Japan goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda. Their next attempt at goal was in the dying minutes when substitute Mohammed Al Alawi’s shot was well saved by goalkeeper Gonda.
Japan could have completed the match on a high with a third goal in the 90th minute but Osako’s thundering shot from inside the penalty area was only able to rock the Bahrain goalpost.
In Doha, Australia’s bid to make next year’s London Olympics suffered another setback when they were held to a goalless draw by Iraq in a Group C Asian qualifying match here on Tuesday.
The Olyroos, who drew their opening match against the UAE in September, were forced to share the points yet again, thanks to the efforts of Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan who displayed tremendous alertness and anticipation.

Hassan saved all four Australian chances to help his team gain their first point following their 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan earlier in the campaign.
The Iraqis matched the Australians man for man, except for occasional defensive errors that on another day could have spelt disaster for them.
After the initial burst of Iraqi aggression that saw the rival defence under pressure on a couple of occasions, the Australians managed to get their act together in midfield, pushing forward in search of their first goal.
They were presented with two golden chances in a space of a few seconds, but James Brown found Hassan equal to the task.
Brown dribbled past the last Iraqi defender in the 39th minute, but his shot from six yards was blocked by Hassan.

The ball came back to Brown, but he couldn’t believe his eyes as his second shot too was deflected by the alert goalkeeper.
The Aussies kept on attacking and were presented with another opportunity a minute later but Sebastian Ryall’s header off a chip from 25 yards was grabbed by Hassan.
Iraq managed to keep the Aussies at bay in the second half too, but once again had Hassan to thank.
He tipped a thundering shot by Marko Jessic over the bar in the 57th minute and later cleared the ball from the penalty area on a couple of occasions to prevent his team from suffering their second successive defeat in qualifying and breathing new life into their campaign.
Australia next play Uzbekistan at home on Sunday, while the UAE meet Iraq.

Standings
Group B
P W D L GF GA Pts
Uzbekistan 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Australia 2 0 2 0 0 0 2
UAE 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Iraq 2 0 1 1 0 2 1
Group C
P W D L GF GA Pts
Japan 2 2 0 0 4 0 6
Syria 1 1 0 0 3 1 3
Malaysia 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Bahrain 2 0 0 2 1 5 0