Cascarino delighted but Kelly upset over one that got away

Another result, another job well done, was the message from Mick McCarthy's wannabes as they wandered out of Lansdowne Road and on towards the play-offs on Saturday. A team which included several men with plenty to prove to club and country had ended Romania's 100 per cent record in Group Eight and taken the point required to make certain of Ireland's progress to the next stage of the great qualification hunt. In the circumstances what more, they asked, could have been asked of them.

"We've played well in the last five games so I don't think anybody will want to draw us out of the hat on Monday," said Ray Houghton, a man proud - he made it clear - to have captained his country for the first time. "In the group overall we've only lost two games and we shouldn't have lost either of them, so I think we can go into the play-offs with a fair amount of confidence."

Avoiding defeat on the day he wore the captain's armband for the first time was, he admitted, a considerable relief but more important was the confidence and experience which taking part in a surprisingly competitive game, will have brought to those players in the team not used to being at the heart of things.

"I thought a lot of people who, no disrespect to them, might not have played in other circumstances, did very well out there today. It's good for them to get an opportunity to play against a quality team and Romania are certainly that.

"In the end, after we got the equaliser I thought we could have gone on to win the match but whether we won or not, we had a lot of new players out there and they've found out a bit more about what's involved in international football, which will stand to them in the play-offs."

The hero of the day, meanwhile, chatted amiably about his performance and the goal that made him Ireland's top scorer in the World Cup and brought him to within one of Frank Stapleton's overall record.

"I think I've learnt more about scoring goals since I went to France," reflected the 35-year-old Tony Cascarino, who has added seven goals to his tally from five starts in the current campaign.

"I used to hang back or try to come through a defender to score but in France you can't do that because they'll block or hold you or foul you and so now I look to come across the defender more. That's what happened out there today, the ball went where I thought it was going to go and I'd moved across the defender to get to it so it's a goal I'm very pleased with."

Not so happy with his role in the day's other goal was goalkeeper Alan Kelly. The highly successful switch by Shay Given to Newcastle has once again relegated the Sheffield United player to being Mick McCarthy's number two. It is at club level that Kelly's immediate concerns lie, however, as he has failed to regain his place with the first division outfit since returning from a recent injury, admitting that "reserve team football is no way to prepare for a game like this.

"I honestly think I would have saved that if I was playing in the first team. It's something that I'm going to have to go away and think about."

Happier with their day's work, meanwhile, were new boy Lee Carsley and Coventry defender Gary Breen. The Derby player admitted to feeling relief more than anything else at the final whistle after a game which he had found quite exhausting.

"Still I'm happy," he said "because as a professional player you always have the question in the back of your mind about whether you are good enough to play at international level and I think I proved out there today, not to anybody else but to myself, that I can cope with it."

Breen, on the other hand, had known that before Saturday, but for the Coventry City player, whose fortunes at Highfield Road have recently taken a turn for the better, it was still nice to come through a World Cup match unscathed.

"It was great to get the chance to play again and I enjoyed it. The main objective of the players out there today was to get picked for the play-offs and all we can do now is hope that we've done enough."