Last night at Lansdowne Road couldn't have gone more pleasantly for Mick McCarthy. Two sweetly taken goals, a couple of fresh faces who will undoubtedly have enjoyed the evening and a friendly fixture in which nobody was injured.

Any observations on the match have to be tempered by the fact that it was defined by a fairly passionless, almost meek nature. I can scarcely recall one tackle which was truly full blooded - Steve Carr was committed as one would expect from a first-time international - and the likes of Kevin Kilbane and Graham Kavanagh scurried about with enthusiasm but the Swedes, while probably regarding this as a useful experience, were very cautious.

But to be honest, I felt they created the better chances in the second half, which far outweighed the first in terms of incident.

Henrik Larsson impressed me in terms of his movement. He runs great angles and works hard when his team aren't in possession but he did play as though Sunday's Old Firm clash was in the back of his mind. When he reflects on this match, he might well arrive at the conclusion that he ought to have plundered a goal, but Shay Given made an astute save, reacting sharply and minimising the striker's options.

Ireland's goals were hit with refreshing decisiveness. Interesting that Tony Cascarino played a part in both, almost before he had time to break a sweat. Clever touch-down to Kavanagh and it was nice to see that the youngster had the confidence to belt it first time. Shots hit with that ferocity can stray embarrassingly wide but it was a true thump, a well taken goal.

Mark Kennedy's strike was great to behold. Directing the ball at pace is a difficult skill to execute but he really placed his shot with beautiful precision and the pace left Kihlstedt, who was jittery throughout, with little chance.

It was a moment Kennedy needed and one he clearly relished but for all that, the lad remains an enigma. If I were coaching him, I suppose I'd find him frustrating in that he clearly possesses talent. While allowing for the fact that he is having difficulty attaining regular first-team football, Mark must come to terms with the fact that at this level, you simply have to appreciate possession.

Carr showed an understanding of that throughout his first 90 minutes at this level. He patently appreciated his team-mates, moved for them, was aware. I think that Kennedy feels obliged to blind us with an extraordinary moment - which he is capable of doing occasionally - instead of concentrating on an hour and a half of solid, un-fussy, error-free competence.

Only when he learns this lesson can he hope to make a proper breakthrough. As it stands, he is clearly behind Damien Duff in the pecking order and now has real competition in Kevin Kilbane, who fashioned productive moments out of what ball came his way.

What did we learn about Ireland last night? Well, nothing really. Sweden probably suffered for the want of their best players more so than ourselves. Every one of the 29,000 people at Lansdowne Road knew what the Irish team would be if the fare had been for real.

Those first-choice players who were present acquitted themselves well. Kenny Cunningham is obviously the best we've got at the heart of the defence and Gary Breen, who enjoyed a comfortable 45 minutes, seems to be talking himself into the role of regular partner.

Steve Staunton strolled through and Niall Quinn distinguished himself with a series of sublimely soft touches which David Connolly and company might have made more of. Robbie Keane and Duff got a run purely to justify their presence and even for the brief few moments in which we saw them, their capacity to electrify was made apparent.

But in terms of the Macedonia and Yugoslavia games, little can be gleaned from the match. Sure, the players will feed off the positive buzz which arises after any home win and the night definitely did no harm, it gave us a substantial victory over a combative team who came here on the back of nine undefeated matches.

Ireland were never really questioned by the Swedes. There was no period of sustained pressure, which would have been of benefit to fringe players like Carr and Kavanagh, so there was a faint sense of unreality about the whole thing. The Swedes might have been curious about playing a team who favour a direct style comparable to that of England's but they also wanted to make certain they didn't pick up any injuries.

Ireland will depart Dublin today with a higher morale, glad to have played again. That was the real use of last night - it afforded Ireland the opportunity to run around on a park. In Group Eight, the likelihood of such ventures would seem to be growing increasingly more remote.

(In an interview with Keith Duggan)