Players' Reaction/Mary Hannigan: It might have been hard enough for the "old hands" of the Irish squad to persuade their post-match audience that last night's near-end-of-season friendly ranked alongside the most memorable games of their careers, but for a whole clutch of their newer team-mates emerging from the dressing-room, any opportunity, evidently, to persuade Brian Kerr of their potential is gratefully received.

"I thought Alan Maybury did really well," said Shay Given, "he looked like he'd been playing there a long time for us, fitted in without any problems. But all the new lads have done that this week, settled in like they've been with this squad for years.

"The more options Brian Kerr has, of course, the better and he has a few more now. It's an encouraging sign for the future."

The goal? "Disappointed with it, I thought I had it but he just nicked it away from me right at the last second. But it was a good result, they hadn't lost in 20 games so we're pretty pleased with that. We had a lot of changes at the back and we were down to the bare bones at the end with Matt Holland playing centre half, after Gary went off, it was a bit makeshift, but we did well."

"A great result," said Damien Duff, "but I think we're capable of beating anyone who comes to Lansdowne and we thoroughly deserved this win. I think it would have been a sin if they'd got the draw, we created a lot of chances all night and played really well - the best we've played in a fair while. Great to see Robbie get the winner, moving closer to the record.

"I think we're building something good here, I hope so anyway. It's a young squad, a couple more debuts tonight, great to see Liam Miller come in. I think he'll be a great player for Ireland - and for Manchester United as well."

Did you take a kick before half-time? "Ah yeah, but that happens every week, nothing new there," shrugged Duff, "I don't even think about it."

Ian Harte's goal? "I would have put my mortgage on him scoring, it was brilliant, but he has one of the best left feet in the Premiership, I don't know how he isn't playing every week over there."

Three "left-footers" in that Irish midfield tonight, how do you think it worked out?

"Well, I like to take a roam and get involved and so does Andy (Reid), so I think we complement each other well.

"Kev (Kilbane) did brilliantly in the centre, but everyone knows he can run all day and he gets stuck in and he's got a lot of quality as well."

"It's nice to beat a team of that quality," said Matt Holland. "But we know it's only a friendly, the big stuff comes in September."