A difficult examination awaits Mick McCarthy in the United States over the next 11 days after an inept performance at Lansdowne Road last evening had merely accentuated doubts about the quality of the squad he will take on tour. Hopes that desperation would in some inverted way breed inspiration were proved misplaced as Scotland, disguising the loss of several key players much better than the home team, won more emphatically than the scoreline suggested.

It was in essence a test of the reserve strength available to the two managers and in the end Craig Brown's face was the one more likely to break into smiles. In terms of honest endeavour Ireland delivered on the expectations of a 31,000 crowd.

In every respect, however, the display was deeply flawed and even the established members of the side struggled to escape the shackles of mediocrity.

It started promisingly enough with Mark Kennedy's 30-yard free-kick cannoning off Craig Burley to put the home team into the lead within two minutes of the kick-off.

Neil Sullivan could scarcely believe it as he stooped into the net to retrieve the ball but it wasn't until the last minute of injury-time that he had cause for further alarm when stopping Robbie Keane's shot at the near upright.

An equaliser then would have been more than the Irish deserved. Apart from some sharp early thrusts by Kennedy, little of substance emerged from midfield and, on the odd occasion the breaking ball invited the decisive finish, the lack of a cutting edge was blatant.

Given that McCarthy's first-choice strikers Niall Quinn and Robbie Keane were on duty, that was disturbing but, in fairness, the supply lines from midfield were so erratic that at a relatively early stage of the game we had the unusual spectacle of Keane being forced to forage deep to involve himself in the action.

Scotland also looked less than convincing for long periods but, significantly, they pieced together almost all of the game's better moves, notably in the secondhalf when they might have had two more goals.

The most revealing duel of the evening was that between Stephen McPhail and Barry Ferguson, two young men who could hold the future of their country's football fortunes in their hands in the years ahead. McPhail prospered occasionally in the early stages as the link man in midfield but ultimately it was Ferguson who emerged with the honours.

Yet undeniably the game's outstanding performer was Scotland's Don Hutchinson. At times when those around him struggled to uncover the gaps, the Everton player was usually seeing things earlier and fittingly he was central to both their goals.

Paul Lambert was also impressively workman-like while at the back Matt Elliott and Christian Dailly presented a front which the Irish could never breach after that freak early score.

At times forthright defending bordered on something more mischievous but the end product was to render the threat of Quinn and Keane pretty innocuous.

Stephen Carr performed well at right back but sadly Phil Babb's ongoing tribulations weakened the centre of the defence to the point where Scotland always looked capable of scoring when they made their attacks through the middle.

Terry Phelan's introduction as a second-half replacement was greeted more enthusiastically than the majority of the home team's feeble attacks but by that stage a heavy sense of inevitability had settled on the game.

Before his withdrawal in the 60th minute Kennedy was perhaps the most effective Irish player. Kevin Kilbane by contrast will have some unnerving memories of his first appearance at left back and it wasn't until late in the game that Jason McAteer made any impact.

On a balmy evening ripe for heroics, Kennedy lost no time in taking the cue. Admittedly it required a wicked deflection off Burley to redirect his free-kick into the net but the effect was to give Ireland a start which exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts.

It ought to have provided the platform for an expansive performance and for a while Kennedy skipping Brian O'Neill's challenges with impressive ease promised to embroider the script.

However, even in the better moments, the final delivery was never sharp enough to entice Elliott and Dailly into errors and gradually the Scots found some composure .

Hutchinson, impressive in short sharp bursts, had already hinted at frailties in Ireland's defence before securing an equaliser in the 17th minute.

Kilbane's naivety in a full back role allowed Burley the time to pick out Neil McCann with the precise cross-field pass and the ensuing cross was neatly tucked away by the Everton player.

The ease with which the home defence had been undone was disquieting and the suspicions were proved well founded when the Scots struck for a second time 12 minutes later. Babb, in urgent need of rehabilitation, was instead embarrassed by Hutchinson's nutmeg and could only watch in dismay when the cross was converted by Ferguson.

Subsequently, Hutchinson missed a good chance of stretching the advantage and it took the save of the game by Alan Kelly to deny Ferguson a second goal before the end.

In victory the Scotland manager could afford to be magnanimous "We scored two excellent goals but judged on the amount of possession they had and the number of corners they forced, Ireland deserved at least a draw."

Hutchinson was perhaps more accurate in his assessment. "This was a good night for Scottish football. I thought we played remarkably well after giving away that early goal and we got no more than we deserved from the match."

Mick McCarthy said: "We can have no complaints. We were beaten by a better team on the night. It was disappointing that we failed to build on that good start but there were also a couple of good individual performances.

"I thought Stephen McPhail and Steve Finnan both did well. It wasn't easy for young players to come into an unsettled team like the one we had this evening."

Rep of Ireland: A Kelly, Kilbane, Babb, Breen (Foley 77), Carr, McPhail (Duff 61), McAteer, Finnan, Kennedy (Phelan 61), Quinn (Dunne 77), R Keane. Subs Not Used: Mahon, Kiely, Farrelly. Booked: Kilbane. Goal: Kennedy 2.

Scotland: Sullivan, Dailly, Elliott, O'Neil, Naysmith (Durrant 89), McCann (Pressley 90), Lambert (Johnston 75), Ferguson (Cameron 84), Burley, Hutchison, Dodds (Gallacher 45). Subs Not Used: Gould, Holt, Burchill. Goals: Hutchison 15, Ferguson 27.

Referee: V Melo-pereiro (Portugal).