This was a new experience for me in that it was the first time I have ever seen 37 players participating in a single game of football.

I reckon you would have to trawl the more obscure regions of Sunday morning football to happen upon such a frequent rate of replacements.

I suppose the manager's hands were tied to an extent; you are obliged to run players when you ask clubs' to release them, especially with a new season imminent. But really, it rendered the game an absolute non-event and such was the tempo and lack of structure that I doubt that Mick McCarthy learned anything.

One of the most telling feature's of the game was that Croatia's best player was Robert Prosinecki, the grand old man of the team, who came on and impressed while raising little more than a walking pace.

We have to face the fact that Croatia strolled through this match.

The one thing that did emerge as a positive for Ireland was the performance of Damien Duff up front. He was sharp, moved into spaces well and took his goal very clinically.

He also blended well with Robbie Keane - whose sharpness was heartening - and now, with Niall Quinn not ruled out, McCarthy has a potentially pleasant dilemma up front. Over the past five games, Duff has emerged as arguably our best player (the boy Roy aside) and should start against Holland.

If Quinn is passed fit, then I would play him on the left. Mark Kennedy was criminally wasteful tonight, following the general pattern of his career. I look at Kennedy and believe that the promise he demonstrated at Millwall still exists but his efforts to tap into it seem negligible.

The guy is an enigma and will continue to to be so but hopefully, the penny will drop for him before full-time is called on his international days.

I still believe that Kenny Cunningham simply must return to our defence for the Dutch game. Richard Dunne was good in the first half tonight - he passes well out of defence, much better than he is generally credited for - and is decisive when he goes for the ball.

But I just fell that he sells himself sometimes in a way that could be fatally exploited by the edge-of-square craftsmen like Kluivert.

Stan Staunton will always make clever decisions coming out of defence and he has a decade of experience but father time is catching up on him a little. Also, Dunne at Manchester City and Stan at Villa play in a three-man defence and are used to that system and I just think the pair against the Dutch could leave us exposed. So the return of Cunningham would give us that stability and balance and agility that could be vital.

What else to say? I thought that young Reid did all right last night; he was cautious but bright in his moments on the ball and he generally looked composed. Nice to see Clinton Morrison get his goal - a mutual warmth society has already emerged between himself and the Lansdowne crowd - but he is one for the future; he is raw and cannot really be of immediate help.

It would have been of more use had Robbie Keane been around to benefit from that tap in because he just needs a goal right now, even a gift. Strikers thrive on it, the noise and celebration. Hopefully, he will break the drought on September 1st.

It is hard to imagine a more contrasting atmosphere as last night's in comparison to our next date here. Mick McCarthy has done well to guide Ireland to this position and the hope is now that he is not hit with any more injuries. Mark Kinsella's absence is debilitating enough. Mattie Holland, if fit, should come in at midfield, a player always likely to poach a goal. Lee Carsley showed again here that he is an honest soldier but essentially, he replicates what Roy Keane does.

Mick learned little here but didn't really need to. The stage is set for a tough, truthful 90 minutes of football. If Ireland are to profit, all our players will have to be operating at a premium.

In an interview with Keith Duggan