IT was all too easy for the Matildas as they thrashed Vietnam by a whopping 9-0 on their road to Rio.
A first half hat-trick to the outstanding Kyah Simon at Nagai Stadium in Japan set the platform and she had the luxury of putting her feet up for the second half while her teammates got in on the action.
If Olympic qualification comes down to goal difference, they could hardly have done any more.
Fresh off their shock win over Japan the only danger for the Matildas could have been complacency, but coach Alen Stajcic would have been thrilled to see none of that as they put their opponents to the sword.
The result means they are a step closer to the Rio Olympics, though they still have three games remaining in this gruelling schedule which has them playing five matches in 10 days. Only the top two teams in the six nation tournament qualify for the Olympics, but the Matildas are now firmly in the box seat.
The match against Vietnam was always going to be the least challenging - the last time the two sides met the Matildas won 11-0 - with tougher tasks against South Korea, North Korea and China yet to come. Still, the rout will further add to the Matildas momentum as those games approach.
It’s hard to look past the goal-fest, but another significant storyline was Stajcic’s inclusion of defender Ellie Carpenter in the starting lineup. The 15-year-old - yes, she is just 15 - became the first millennial to represent Australia.
Born in 2000, Carpenter burst onto the W-League scene with the Western Sydney Wanderers this season and was quickly included in the Matildas training squad. An injury to Aivi Luik on the eve of the qualifying tournament opened the door for her to make her international debut and she showed composure far beyond her age.
The Matildas hardly gave their fans any time to settle into their seats before the goals started coming and by the time the half time whistle sounded they had already raced to a 5-0 lead.
Emily Gielnik scored her first international goal in just the 10th minute, before Simon doubled the lead soon after. Vietnam simply had no answer for the Matildas attacking prowess and before they knew it Alanna Kennedy had netted the fourth.
There was some brief respite for Vietnam, before Simon grabbed her second and the star forward wasted no time bagging her hat-trick soon after. From an impossible angle right on the byline, Simon flicked the ball over the defender and into the back of the net.
It was absolute carnage in freezing Osaka, not that the Matildas seemed to be feeling the cold.
Even with the result in the bag, the Matildas never took their foot off the gas, adding four goals in the second half.
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