The Aussies have thumped the Islanders. After nearly a year, Australia returned to the Oceana group 1 qualifiers for next year's FIFA World Cup in Germany, with the first of their two play off matches against the Solomon Islands.

Jason Culina got the home side off to an ideal start by scoring neatly on the 21st minute.The match hadn't warranted much attention as most Australians felt the result was a forgone conclusion.Mark Schwarzer,the Aussie keeper, still had to be alert in goal, as the danger of complacency crept in to his team mates' game. The visitors weren't just there to make up the numbers, and deserved to go in at half time just trailing by the one goal, however, Mark Viduka's double strike in the 37th and 43rd minute put an end to that.

The rain that started to fall seemed to dampen the spirits of the away team, as much as the home crowd, Sydney sporting events are not usually so quiet. On paper,as in the match, the Australian's were much too strong for the Solomon Islands, but the visitors flew at them in the opening moments of the second half, their coach obviously deciding that the best form of defence was attack. Of course by doing so, the Solomon Islands became very exposed at the back, leaving plenty of space for the rampaging Viduka to run into.

Referee Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh had to be at his best to keep a lid on things, as frustration started to take over the Solomon Islands players with some wild challenges, a situation not helped by the greasy surface.English premier team Everon's Tim Cahill put Australia further ahead in the 57th minute, as the home side threatened to run up a cricket score against opposition who were clearly out of their depth.

For all their endevour, the Solomon Islands had nothing to show, a situation that was made even worse on the hour, when both Scott Chipperfield and Archie Thompson scored within a couple of minutes of each other. That wasn't the end of the goal fest, Brett Emerton scored in the 89th minute. As the teams left the field, you couldn't help but think that the next match will most deinitely be a formality.

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