Australia remained on course for its maiden Asian Cup title after defeating United Arab Emirates 2-0 in a semifinal at a wet Newcastle Stadium on Tuesday. (Source: Reuters)

Australia remained on course for its maiden Asian Cup title after defeating United Arab Emirates 2-0 in a semifinal at a wet Newcastle Stadium on Tuesday.

Playing in Newcastle for the first time in almost 20 years, the Socceroos took a firm grip on the contest when defenders Trent Sainsbury and Jason Davidson scored inside the first 15 minutes.

Australia march on to the final against South Korea at Sydney on Saturday, when the host hopes to go one step better than its 2011 final loss to Japan.

UAE, which knocked out defending champion Japan 5-4 on penalties in the quarterfinals, couldn’t find a breakthrough to spark a fightback, despite another leading performance by star Omar Abdulrahman.