Victory brings fresh spring in players' step

Job done. The spring in the step of the players filing out of the dressing rooms at Lansdowne Road last night told the story: three games played, five points on the board, very happy indeed, thank you very much.

Not that they'll admit it but that's about three more points than any of them might have expected at this stage. "Long, long way to go", they insist, to a man, but suddenly, they agree, the route to Japan and Korea doesn't seem half as arduous, impossible even, as it did when the draw for this group was made.

Before the game Mick McCarthy had spoken of Estonia being a potential banana skin but, in truth, they proved to be less than slippy customers. "Yeah, I suppose we had 95 per cent of the game and they didn't threaten us too much," Alan Kelly agreed, "but I think we made it hard for them, we played really well. Mick told us before the game that our draws in Holland and Portugal wouldn't mean half as much if we slipped up tonight so, needless to say, there was huge determination out there to get the win.

"You could see how much better we're becoming as a team, there was such good understanding between the players and I think that has come from the continuity of selection these past three games. Naturally for me it helps a lot to have the same defence in front of me a few games running and, once again, Gary (Breen) and Richard (Dunne) were terrific in the centre - both of them have done brilliantly so far," said Kelly.

"We went for a walk around town yesterday (Tuesday) and the atmosphere was great, I felt there was a real buzz about the place because of our results so far - in some ways it was like the good old days were back."

An exhausted Kevin Kilbane emerged from the dressing room, nodding furiously when asked if that was his busiest ever international. "Yeah, to be honest I can't ever remember having so many runs in an Irish game - I seemed to run forever in the second half. I had much less space in the first but seemed to get more freedom in the second so . . ." It was head down and at 'em stuff? "Yeah," he laughed. "Although I should have scored, at least one any way.

"They were a stubborn side, though, and even if they didn't cause us too many problems they were hard enough to break down. We know we should have scored more but we're just delighted to have taken the points - it gives us a fantastic start to the campaign. Good times rolling on," he smiled.

And Niall Quinn wasted no time in showering praise on his Sunderland teammate.

"He was unreal in the second half, but Kevin's getting better and better. It's frightening what he can do these days."

As for a certain Irish goal-scoring record, Quinn wonders will it ever come. "I did well in everything else but I just didn't score. I think that record is like a thing around my neck right now, and I wish Don Givens had scored about 50 and then everyone would leave me alone.

"I know myself I should have scored more than one tonight but it's not something I'm worried about. If we had come off with a nil-nil draw I would have been upset but I felt I played a bit of a part tonight, and it was more like the way I know I can play for Ireland. I was a little bit bemused by what went on in Portugal, and that knocked me back a little bit, but we're playing an attractive type of football now and I had to show that I could fit in with them. Of course I wish I had scored the goal as well."

But there was no hiding the new found confidence in the team. "We're not getting carried away but you just have to look at the way we're playing," he added. "It's nothing big-headed but there is a confidence there, and it couldn't be any better."

For goal-scorer Richard Dunne, it was just "a great feeling". Robbie was talking yesterday about the goals he got here, and how they were the best ever, so I was delighted to sample that tonight. Gary Breen just told me to go around the back, and we were doing that in training during the week. Thankfully it came for me and I just gave it a whack."