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Skipper Mile Jedinak and Mark Milligan scored penalties
either side of halftime with Massimo Luongo also finding the
target to put the Asian champions five points clear at the top
of Group B in the second round of Asian qualifying.
Second-placed Jordan face Bangladesh in Amman later on Thursday,
however, so who finishes top of the group, which guarantees a
place in the decisive third round of qualifying, is likely to be
decided when the Jordanians take on Australia in Sydney next
Tuesday.
Debutant forward Apostolos Giannou had a role in both of the
first two Australia goals, laying the ball off for Luongo to
drill a shot home from the edge of the area in the second minute
and earning the penalty which Jedinak converted 10 minutes
later.
Australia dominated possession for the rest of the half but,
with their all time leading scorer Tim Cahill watching on from
the bench, failed to convert pressure into shots on goal.
Tajikistan, 83 places lower than their hosts in the FIFA
rankings, struggled to get out of their half and it was not
until the 27th minute that Nuriddin Davronov mustered up their
first shot, his long range effort nearly hitting the corner
flag.
Milligan took over as captain when Jedinak was substituted at
the break and he stepped up to take the penalty when Giannou was
again upended inside the box 12 minutes after the restart.
Midfielder Aaron Mooy beat three defenders down the right in the
67th minute to give Burns a simple finish soon before Celtic
attacking midfielder Rogic struck twice in three minutes to
bring up the number "6" on the famous old cricket scoreboard.
The woodwork saved Tajikistan from any further humiliation until
FC Tokyo striker Burns grabbed his second with a far-post header
three minutes from time. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney,
editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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