Australia 3 - Oman 0; Thailand 0 - Saudi Arabia 0

The Socceroos of Australia welcomed last-place Oman to Sydney for Matchday Three of Round Three. Matt McKay (yellow, 17), slashed through the Oman defense seven minutes into the match and proceeded to slot a great pass across the six-yard box which was pushed home by Brett Holman. Holman and McKay again challenged for more goals later in the half, but Australia were unable to make their dominance translate into more than a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Australia continued to push the issue. A Luke Wilshire shot was stuffed at point blank range, but Josh Kennedy (yellow, between 16 and 15) hammered home the rebound for his fourth goal in Group D play. With five minutes remaining, a Wilshire free kick completely annihilated the Oman offside trap, allowing for a beautiful volleyed goal by Mile Jedinak (yellow, 15). Australia were able to take the full three points with a resounding 3-0 victory in spite of the injury absences of Mark Schwarzer and Tim Cahill.

The tale in Bangkok was one of squandered chances galore. Thailand wanted to extend their two-point cushion over Saudi Arabia. To be fair, the visiting Saudis had the majority of those squandered chances and have a better claim to have deserved the victory. In the first half, Thailand fired the first warning shot, but it was a great clearance of the line by Thai defender Niweat Siriwong that saved Thailand from being down a goal in minute 33. The game remained scoreless into the half.

Both teams found decent opportunities in the second period, but no one was able to find the net until a late header appeared to put the Saudis in front. However, the attacker was whistled for a foul on the goalkeeper, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw, the second scoreless draw for Saudi Arabia in this group. Saudi Arabia are yet to score in the AFC Third Round.

Australia 9 pts +6

Thailand 4 pts +2

Saudi Arabia 2 pts -2

Oman 1 pts -6

Goals

Australia

Brett Holman 7

Joshua Kennedy 65

Mile Jedinak 85

Match Reports:

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1525191/index.html

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/match/64339/australia-vs-oman/report

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g4xTaqTVdN_YiwBcNCssKlwaM5XQ?docId=CNG.b050801a800b50206e1295f28336552b.521

Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu6jD_l6j3g (Australia v. Oman)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXR2ap58CwQ (Thailand v. Saudi Arabia)