How do I sync my Nano to the Cloud?

I've got a new Nano, an iTunes Match account and, although I'm connecting to the iMac with the hard-drive that has the physical MP3s, it will only sync files if I download them from the Cloud, creating a 2nd mp3 file of the tune on my hard drive. Surely I don't have to re-download all my 11,000 tunes to get them onto my iPod.

I appreciate that it won't sync directly with the Cloud, but I have the mp3s on my hard drive and it won't see it. Do I need to just turn off Match?

All help welcome!

Cheers

Chipps