I was out of town this weekend, enjoying the lovely wine region of Margaret River, which is why I didn't write anything about the Socceroos' second Asian Cup match. That, and Australia's 3-1 loss to Iraq made me want to throw things.

But things seemed much better tonight. A 4-0 drubbing of Thailand, goals by Viduka and Kewell, and it would seem that normal service has resumed. It's hard to believe that, during a four-goal victory, there was a time when I thought to myself "Australia's problem is that they just don't seem to be able to give themselves a chance to score a goal."

But the fact is, while 4-0 is nice, and gives us the positive goal difference needed to go up, three of the goals were scored in the last ten minutes, and the scoreline is extremely hard on the Thais. Watching the match, there were plenty of what Sir Alex Ferguson calls "squeaky bum moments."

The Socceroos came into an awful lot of criticism following Saturday's match, and 99.5% of it was deserved. Honestly, I'm not convinced that all has been solved, and I'm just as worried about advancement in the next round of the Asian Cup as I was about tonight. But at least the Green and Gold have survived to play another day.

Oh, where to begin with the Socceroos first match in the Asian Cup? First off, part of me feels like Australia was fortunate to escape with a point, while at the same time, I can't help but feel like it was two points dropped. At least they don't find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table, which is what they were facing until Super Timmy Cahill stepped up yet again (there's a reason this blog is named after him). Cometh the hour, cometh the man, indeed.

I don't understand why Australia were installed as such quick favorites for this tournament. For my money, Japan is still the team to beat, Kaiserlautern notwithstanding. I'm not going to blame the weather for the Socceroos' play (as it was the same for both teams). Instead, I wonder if the boys believed their own press clippings and came out with a less than 100% effort in the beginning, because they didn't think it would be required. On the other hand, once they found themselves in the soup, the Socceroos were able to break down a bunkering Omani side to find the vital equaliser. So that, at least, is encouraging.

As for Oman, I would like to take this opportunity to formally apologise for mockingly calling them "The Mighty Oman" earlier. Up until about 7:50 p.m. last night, it looked like I would be eating those words with a side of sweet chili sauce. However, I have to castigate them, as I cannot recall seeing a side in an international competition go to ground as frequently and shamelessly as the Omanis did. By my count, the referee called for the stretcher no less than seven times, and only once was there a legitimate injury that required the player to be substituted. The other six times, the Omani player popped right back up as soon as he reached the touchline, ready to re-enter the match. Perhaps a mandated five-minute period on the sidelines if the stretcher crew comes out to assist you will help in stamping out this particular type of unsporting behaviour.