It is fairly chaotic in the mixed zone of the Stade de France when Thierry Henry wanders in. The Arsenal striker's lofty status means he is in demand from both sets of media and after a lengthy spell discussing the evening's events with the French he moves coolly on to the visiting press.

A couple of questions in and it's all going well. Then someone quietly asks: "Are you happy with your form?" "Yes," he replies with a feigned hint of bewilderment, "are you not?" On and off the pitch, it seems, he is capable of leaving opponents floundering in his wake.

Just a few feet away Kenny Cunningham, if asked, would presumably answer no to the same question. The Irish skipper is notoriously, sometimes amusingly, hard on himself in public but on Saturday his gently understated performance has been one of the many factors that have helped the Irish achieve a memorable and potentially crucial draw in Paris.

Henry and Cisse and Co have given it their best shot in front of their own fans but come away empty-handed and if the Dubliner is not exactly claiming much of the credit, he is at least clearly pleased with what he described as a very good night's work by the team as a whole.

"Yeah, it felt that we did well to be honest," he says. "It's difficult to characterise it so soon afterwards sometimes but there were definitely a lot of plus points. We came out of the blocks very well; actually controlled the game for the first 15 minutes and created one or two opportunities in and around their box.

"Obviously they came into the game but even still I always thought we looked dangerous and capable of scoring. I'm pleased overall. We didn't come here and defend for 90 minutes which, from talking to people who saw Israel play here, is what they did. Of course, we defended deep at times and got people behind the ball but when the opportunity arose we looked to get forward and into attacking positions and we might have won the game with a little bit of luck."

A month ago they took a similar result away from Basel but the similarities more or less end there. Though the French should have proved much tougher opponents the scale of the improvement on the Irish side meant that this was a much more even and tightly-contested affair although the Birmingham City defender finds it a little hard to pinpoint how it is that Brian Kerr's men toiled against the Swiss but thrilled against the French.

"It's always difficult to say, to be honest," he sighs. "I thought we kept the ball better and at this level that's absolutely crucial for a start. In Switzerland we gave the ball away very cheaply in the wrong areas of the pitch. Tonight the concentration was better, the decision-making was better and that's important because if we'd given the ball away in bad areas tonight then with their pace they could really have hurt us."

As he considers the reasons for Ireland's effectiveness he has something good to say about almost every one of his team-mates but on a night when Kevin Kilbane has produced what was perhaps his best performance in an Ireland jersey, the Everton midfielder is singled out for particular praise.

"Well, where he was tonight is a hugely important area of the pitch of course," he says. "Roy (Keane) kept his discipline in there early on and made some really vital tackles in the first half when we needed him. As he always does he got on the ball and distributed it well but I thought he and Kevin complemented each other very well. It's always good to have a left footer and right footer in that area of the pitch - it helps the overall balance.

"Then there's the fact that Kevin's aerial threat is important. I don't think people realise the number of times he wins important headers in his own box. He does a lot more, makes a vital contribution to the team and just works his socks off.

"He's an underrated player in some respects. He's amassed over 50 caps and he's one of the exceptional players in the Irish squad since I've been involved and I'm delighted for him that he got the man of the match award out there tonight."

Kilbane himself modestly acknowledged the praise and insisted that he simply does his best in a position where he would probably not be playing but for the tremendous options available to Kerr on the left side of midfield.

He thrived in the role on Saturday and, momentarily at least, even appeared to have a decent claim for a penalty after clashing with Mikael Silvestre although he was the first to concede afterwards that "it would have been a bit harsh on the French if it had been given tonight".

Andy O'Brien, though, had more of a complaint about his clash with Fabien Barthez and he made no secret of his irritation with the goalkeeper afterwards.

"I was annoyed," he said. "He caught me. I stood with him because he seemed to be claiming all the crosses. I stood my ground and as the ball was about to be played he caught me with his elbow. I'm not making anything up. I think television will prove it."