Dushanbe Australia had to dig deep to overcome an enthusiastic and well-drilled Tajikistan on a balmy night in Dushanbe when their lowly ranked hosts posed more of a threat than most ??? particularly the Australian bookmakers ??? had expected, at least for an hour.
Mark Milligan's 57th minute goal, when he turned the ball home from an Aaron Mooy corner, helped ease the tension, putting Australia in front. 
And Tim Cahill's follow-up 17 minutes later, when he swept in a Ryan McGowan cross, and a headed third from the same player in stoppage time, was enough to ensure the Socceroos won 3-0, making it three wins from three on the road to Russia 2018.
Australia had been offered at unbackably short prices back home, and while they had the lion's share of possession it wasn't until Milligan's goal near the hour mark that they could begin to feel that they were in control of this game.
Cahill's second ??? as so often has been the case over the past decade ??? wrapped the game up and the visitors were able to take control in the final quarter of an hour. His third was the icing on his personal cake.
Australia now tops the group with nine points, from Jordan, their next opponents, which has seven following their win earlier in the evening in Bangladesh.
The Tajiks played with commitment and enthusiasm and made a contest of things.
But in truth they created little in the way of clear-cut chances, while Australia, which had so much of the ball, could not find a cutting edge until Milligan's breakthrough.
It's said that if at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again. After all, practice is said to make perfect.
That seemed to be the Socceroos' motto throughout a frustrating first half when they repeatedly launched wave after wave of attacks down the flanks and slung scores of crosses, from both left and right, aimed at Cahill's head.
But all of that pressure failed to yield a goal as neither Cahill nor any of his colleagues could get the critical touch to break the deadlock.
Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou had made three changes from the team that won so easily against Bangladesh in Perth, starting Cahill, defender McGowan and Matt McKay in place of Ahmed Elrich, Tom Rogic and Nathan Burns, although the latter two were to figure off the bench in the last 20 minutes.
If matches were decided on the corner count, then Australia would have won this game comfortably by half-time, so often did Mooy place the ball to deliver another set-piece.
He signalled numerous variations ??? far post, near post, central ??? but none of them could quite open up a determined Tajik rearguard which scrambled and chased with enthusiasm, even if all they were doing was conceding yet another corner.
Bangladesh were so awful in Perth last week that it was possible to believe before this game that the Tajiks, who had drawn 1-1 with them in Dhaka, couldn't be that good if that's all they had been capable of.
That was certainly the message from the locals in Dushanbe on match day, none of whom gave their side a prayer against Australia.
But they surpassed their countrymen's doomy predictions, especially in the first half, when they survived an early storm to finish the last 10 minutes with some attacks that resulted in a few nervous moments for Australia.
The benefits of players knowing each other also worked in the Tajiks' favour.
All bar a handful of their starting eleven play their club football for Tajikistan's biggest club, Istiqlol, so when they defended deep as a unit, they did so in collective fashion, making it hard for the Socceroos to break them down when they tried to play their way through the centre.
And when they broke, they did so with some cohesion, with Fathuloev Fathullo and Dilshod Vasiev trying, without much success, to get any change down the right flank.
Having said that, Australia should have been able to make something of its domination in the opening period.
They went close on a couple of occasions. Cahill headed wide, a Matthew Spiranovic header was tipped over for a corner, Mckay blasted over, and then Cahill's shot, after a good Mathew Leckie run, was deflected wide.
McGowan's cross was then met by Massimo Luongo, whose header was well saved by Alisher Dodov. Mooy fed the rebound to Leckie, whose shot was cleared off the line. A header was saved from Luongo off McGowan's cross and then Mooy teed up for Leckie, but his shot was cleared off the line
The Tajiks began to show more adventure in the 10 minutes before the interval and Manuchehr Dzhalilov won their first corner in the 38th minute.
Adam Federici, a bored spectator against the Bangladeshis, then had to make a diving save to comfortably take Farkhod Vasiev's long-range drive.
Mooy went agonisingly close five minutes into the second half when his long-range free kick beat Dodov before crashing to safety off the cross bar, and three minutes later Cahill sent yet another header flashing over the bar.
The all-important goal came shortly after. From yet another Mooy corner, the Tajik defence failed to clear their lines and Milligan, the former Melbourne Victory skipper, turned the ball home.
The goal gave Australia breathing space and silenced the vociferous Tajik crowd, who knew the game was up when Cahill got on the end of McGowan's cross in the 74th minute to seal their fate, adding his second in the dying moments.
Dzhalilov's drive into the side netting in the 85th minute was as close as the Tajiks came to a consolation goal.
For them qualification for the second phase now looks impossible.
Australia rolls up its sleeves and prepares for another difficult away day in Jordan in   October.