Bahrain pip N Korea
Reuters, Pyongyang
Husain Ali scored two breakaway goals as Bahrain snatched a 2-1 win in North Korea on Friday to post their first victory of the final round of Asian 2006 World Cup qualifiers. Bahrain went top of Group B, at least until Japan take on Iran in Tehran later on Friday, with four points from two games while North Korea lost their second match in a row. Ali put the visitors ahead with an eighth-minute header to stun the crowd of 60,000 at Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung stadium. The Bahrain striker then scored another against the run of play in the 58th minute. Striker Pak Song-kwan pulled one back for North Korea five minutes later and the home side put Bahrain under intense pressure as they went in search of an equaliser.
| 
