A second-half header by Kang Min Soo gave Korea Republic their second consecutive victory in the AFC Final Round for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as they scored a 1-0 away win against Bahrain on Saturday.

Following a scoreless first half at Bahrain National Stadium, Kang netted the only goal of the game in the 64th minute when he rose to head home a Kim Seung-yong free kick to give the east Asian side all three points in the Group A clash.

Having beaten Uzbekistan 2-1 last month, the Koreans moved three points clear at the top of the group and remained firmly on course for a sixth consecutive appearance in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament.

Bahrain went into the game without their Nigeria-born duo of midfielder Abdulla Fatadi, who missed the game through suspension, and striker Jaycee Okwunwanne, who was dropped following his absence from training for the match.

The Koreans also had selection issues with three players - Lee Sung-hyun, Choi Chul-soon and Lee Keun-ho - missing due to suspension.

The Koreans had the first real opportunity of the game in the 26th minute but Ki Sung-yueng’s free kick did little to trouble Bahrain goalkeeper Sayed Abbas.

Bahrain had a free kick of their own a minute later but Faouzi Aaish’s shot flew directly at Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong.

Park Sung-hwa’s men had the best chance of the opening half in the 38th minute when striker Kim Seung Yong made his way into the area and beat Bahrain defender Jasim Al Malood before shooting inches wide of the right post.

The Koreans were dealt a serious blow when they had to replace goalkeeper Jung at half-time due to injury and his replacement Song Yougual was tested five minutes after the break when he had to turn away a free-kick taken by striker Ismaeel Abdullatif, the scorer of the winner when Bahrain beat Korea 2-1 in the AFC Asian Cup in July.

The visitors should have broken the deadlock on the hour mark when Kim Seung-yong went past defender Jasim Al Malood only to see his effort blocked by Sayed Abbas.

However, the Koreans finally broke the deadlock on 64 minutes when Kim sent in a free kick from the right flank that was met by Kang, who headed his side ahead.

It should have been 2-0 in the 69th minute, when Korean livewire Kim Seung-yong received the ball on the edge of the area and fired the ball just inches wide of the left post.

Bahrain went close to pulling a goal back in the 72nd minute when Abdulla Al Dakeel latched onto a long ball and used his pace to surge past the Korean defence before curling a shot towards the left corner of the Korean goal only for goalkeeper Song to alertly push the ball to a corner.

The Bahrainis continued to press forward in the closing minute but the Koreans repelled their efforts to maintain their perfect record in Group B.