Netherlands - 0 Republic of Ireland - 1: The results may count for little in the long run but another win for his side over one of the star attractions at this month's European Championships will have left Brian Kerr pondering again how it was that Ireland's own hopes of going to Portugal were ended by a team set to be one of the tournament's bit part players.

The Dubliner must dearly wish he was about to spend a couple of weeks pitting his wits against some of Europe's best coaches but then, to judge by this performance, Dick Advocaat might secretly prefer having three months rather than just eight days to settle on a team and tactics for his next competitive game.

Saturday's encounter was intended to afford Advocaat's many stars a final opportunity to show they can play for each other and, of course, him ahead of the championship. Instead, Robbie Keane thrilled the 5,000 or so Irish supporters with a superb winner just before half-time while lamentable performances by the likes of Patrick Kluivert, Wilfred Bouma and Michael Reiziger generated despair among the local fans and, it seems, further division within their team.

Far from optimistic by the night's end, most Dutch supporters must have found it hard to believe that their players are heading for Portugal for any longer than it takes to play the mandatory three group games.

It is hard to believe that Advocaat's players will not be at least a little better than this when they take on the Germans in Porto tomorrow week, but, having seen his side lose to Belgium the previous weekend, the Dutch coach must have been despondent as so many of the team's traditional frailties again became evident against the Irish.

The talent at his disposal is undisputed, but how well equipped the former Rangers boss is to put things right in the time available to him will be hotly debated among the team's supporters over the coming days.

Chief among Advocaat's problems is his inability to get the players to play the 4-4-2 system he favours and, on this occasion, the blundering way he then set about changing things when the initial plan didn't work.

Brian Kerr, in contrast, reflected with considerable satisfaction on the way in which everything in his corner had gone very much to plan.

After a difficult week for the Ireland manager, Saturday's win must have provided a huge lift ahead of the summer break. While the Dutch had been losing to Belgium, Kerr's side were being taken apart by Nigeria in London. But here they were unrecognisable from that tired and disinterested side that had, in the first half at least, been overwhelmed by the Africans.

Having had some much needed rest, Keane, Kenny Cunningham and Matt Holland all returned to produce hugely impressive performances.

Alan Maybury turned in a much better display than he had managed in either of the Unity Cup games, and in midfield Quinn, Barrett and Reid all displayed maturity far beyond what might have been expected of them against a team comprised of so many great individual talents.

Barrett was, perhaps, the game's greatest success story from an Irish perspective. The Coventry man displayed not only the technical abilities that have long been evident in his game but also the battling qualities that have not. Played out wide on the right, this performance confirmed that he can be considered a serious option for the position when the World Cup qualifiers start.

"I'm delighted for the younger lads like Alan and Graham," said Kerr, "because they've both had tough seasons. They were fantastic out there today, looked entirely at home playing against a team of world class players. Any player who manages that is going to back to his club feeling more confident about where it is that they're going."

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the midfield's performance was the tireless way they worked in both attack and defence from their own positions, keeping their shape as their opponents shifted one way and then the other around them.

After Keane's goal, in particular, the Dutch went no more than a few minutes without making some change to either their line-up or tactical approach. Nothing they did made much difference, though, and, while they did occasionally threaten to turn the tide, the discipline and determination shown by their opponents ensured that the game remained a tight contest in which the Irish who enjoyed more clear-cut scoring chances.

Clinton Morrison once again missed a couple of good ones, while Keane also might have been responsible for at least one more if he had made better choices at key moments.

The way he took the goal, however, was exemplary. The Dutch defending may have made things straightforward for him, while fine runs by Morrison and Reid also helped to clear the path. But his strike from some 25 yards was still wonderful and left Edwin van der Sar completely beaten.

Far from being overrun, the locals enjoyed plenty of possession. But, despite some intricate build-up play, they simply couldn't break down an Irish side that dug in to considerable effect late on.

Van Nistelrooy had, by then, had a couple of penalty claims for which cases could certainly be made, with Cunningham the culprit on one occasion and O'Brien on the other. But otherwise there were only half chances, and not even the Manchester United striker was in the form to seize one of those.

THE NETHERLANDS: van der Sar (Fulham); Reiziger (Barcelona), Stam (Lazio), Bouma (PSV), van Bronckhorst (Barcelona); Sneijder (Ajax), Cocu (Barcelona), van der Vaart (Ajax), Davids (Barcelona); Kluivert (Barcelona), van Nistelrooy (Manchester United). Subs: Heitinga (Ajax) for Reiziger, Seedorf (AC Milan) for Kluivert and van der Meyde (Internazionale) for Sneijder (all half-time), Bosvelt (Manchester City) for Seedorf (62 mins), Makaay (Bayern Munich) for van Nistelrooy and Robben (PSV) for Davids (66 mins), van Hooijdonk (Fenerbahce) for Bouma (85 mins)

IRELAND: Given (Newcastle United); Finnan (Liverpool), Cunningham (Birmingham City), O'Brien (Newcastle United), Maybury (Hearts); Barrett (Coventry City), Holland (Charlton Athletic), Quinn (unattached), Reid (Nottingham Forest); Morrison (Birmingham City), Keane (Tottenham Hotspur). Subs: Lee (Cardiff City) for Morrison (83 mins), Doyle (Coventry) for Reid (88 mins).

Referee: M Dean (England).