After the disappointments the Republic of Ireland has suffered away from home over the past couple of years, Saturday's draw in Amsterdam was genuinely one of the brightest performances I can remember by any of our teams.

It's not just the result - and that was good - but the manner in which it was achieved. Good football played with a good attitude. What we got was 100 per cent commitment; men who gave their all right up until the last 20 minutes when their legs simply started to fail them. Really I don't think you can ask for more than that.

People will say that the Dutch were missing a lot of players, but I wouldn't take that line. For a start they have a powerful squad to choose from, but more importantly you can only go out and play against the players who turn up to face you.

A couple of years ago the Republic would have attempted to defend for 90 minutes against this same group of Dutch players and ended up losing. This time Mick McCarthy got his selection right, the tactics spot on and the point he and his men so thoroughly deserved.

A big problem for us in the past has been our inability to pose a threat to the other team's goal when we've played away from home, but on Saturday it seemed that we might get a goal virtually any time we won possession.

With the width that Kevin Kilbane provided and the superb running of Robbie Keane up front the Irish managed to make some fairly good Dutch defenders look very ordinary. Suddenly two or three of the locals, alarmed by the speed with which they were being closed down and worried by the prospect of getting caught in possession, were attempting to play while looking at their feet rather than with their heads up - if you can get a few of your opponents to do that then you always know that you are in with a chance.

The Irish goals were excellent and the defending was everything that McCarthy could have hoped for beforehand. The problem was that for 70 minutes a lot of the Irish players were playing well above themselves and it's just about impossible to do that for the duration of a whole game.

Until those last 20 minutes we were the better side and I quite honestly couldn't remember the last time I had seen everything come together quite so well for an Irish team. Had we a few more experienced players over the last 20 then we might have held on for the win. But as it was everybody involved did well and should be pleased with a fine point well earned.

Kilbane, of course, had a chance to win it just after the first Dutch goal, and another time he would have found the net. Games at this level turn on chances like that. It was always going to be critical that we lasted longer without conceding a goal after going 2-0 up because once they got one they would be prepared to take chances, to really go for it as the time slipped away.

Had Kilbane put the Irish two up again so quickly then I think the Dutch would more or less have given up the fight and the match would have been won. The fact remains, however, that Kilbane had a fine game and it's just one of those lessons you put down to experience and store away for next time. There was plenty of progress this weekend to be going on with.

The performance and result will come as a huge boost for McCarthy, who could have come under a huge amount of pressure if the opening few matches had all gone badly. Now his most immediate problem might be that expectations will rocket ahead of the trip to Lisbon next month when, to be fair, a draw would again be an excellent achievement.

In the longer term the return matches against our main qualification rivals may prove tricky; when the pressure in on to get forward and win games then players of the quality of Patrick Kluivert will find a good deal more room in which to work.

Those are for worries for next year, though. Just now, everybody concerned can take a great deal of heart from what has been accomplished over the weekend and look forward with renewed confidence to the campaign ahead.

(In an interview with Emmet Malone)