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By Martin Petty
BANGKOK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Australia moved top of Group One after a 4-0 rout of Qatar in Asian World Cup qualifying on Wednesday while South Korea grabbed the Group Two lead after a 4-1 demolition of bottom side United Arab Emirates.
The Socceroos have a two-point advantage in the standings after two matches as goals from Tim Cahill and Josh Kennedy plus a brace from midfielder Brett Emerton saw off Qatar in Brisbane.
South Korea, bidding for a place at a seventh successive finals, eased past UAE 4-1 to lead their group on goal difference and heavyweights Iran went second after holding off a thrilling late rally by North Korea to win 2-1 in Tehran.
Japan, yet to find their feet in the campaign to reach the 2010 tournament in South Africa, are now second in Group One after an uninspiring 1-1 home draw with strugglers Uzbekistan.
In a match delayed by rain, Australia took the initiative after only nine minutes when midfielder Tim Cahill, returning after an eight-month injury absence, seized on David Carney's header and blasted low into the far corner.
Emerton doubled the lead with a 17th minute penalty and added his second just before the hour when he picked up a neat Josh Kennedy pass and fired low into the far corner.
Kennedy completed the thrashing when he leapt high to beat goalkeeper Abdulaziz Abdulla and head home a deep cross with 14 minutes left.
'FANTASTIC JOB'
"The boys did a fantastic job, especially after a difficult start because the rain came down when we were warming up," Australia coach Pim Verbeek told reporters.
"The way we played and controlled the game was fantastic."
South Korea, Asia's most successful World Cup team, were ahead after 19 minutes through Lee Keun-ho and six minutes later inspirational midfielder Park Ji-sung fired into the top corner to double their lead.
UAE pulled a goal back through Ismail Al Hammadi after 71 minutes before Lee added a second and Kwak Tae-hee netted in the dying minutes to secure enough goals to take the group lead.
"We gained some confidence from this match, which should help us in the next one," Park told reporters.
Iran, spurred on by a vociferous home crowd at the imposing Azadi Stadium, went ahead through Mehdi Mahdavikia against North Korea with just 10 minutes on the clock.
Javed Nekounam looked to have put the match beyond the visitors when he took advantage of a series of defensive blunders to add a second goal after 64 minutes but North Korea then battled back.
They tested the nervous Iran defence with a string of dangerous long-range efforts before Jong Tae-se pulled one back in the 71st with a towering header to pile the pressure on the hosts but they just could not force an equaliser.
Japan slipped up in Saitama when prolific striker Maksim Shatskikh prodded home to put Uzbekistan ahead in the 27th minute before Keiji Tamada bundled in an equaliser five minutes before the interval.
Under-fire coach Takeshi Okada, who led Japan to their first World Cup in 1998, said the result was a setback.
"It's a blow but it's a long road so we have to keep going," he told reporters. "We're not pushing the panic button just yet."
The top two in each group advance to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with one more place going to a fifth team via a series of playoffs and a final decider against New Zealand.
