Firstly he pounced to score the only goal of the game and then, when he felt a tweak in his groin just after the hour mark, he asked to be substituted . . . a decision which could see him play in Wednesday's game against Slovakia.

"I felt my groin get tight but I think I came off at the right time. I didn't put any strain on it and so I should be alright, " he said.

The Manchester City midfielder admitted he felt "over the moon" after scoring his third goal in the last four internationals. "Stan (Steve Staunton) says I have a knack of scoring goals and he wanted me to pop up and do it. I wasn't comfortable on the right but I felt better when I moved into the centre and the ball broke to me. I'm glad I had the composure to finish it.

"We weren't perfect in the game but we all pulled together and it felt great to win it."

Skipper Robbie Keane said he was "devastated" about missing next Wednesday's game against Slovakia following his yellow card.

"I had a word with the ref after the game and he seemed embarrassed to be honest over giving it to me. It was a bit harsh but I will be there cheering the lads on."

The Spurs striker felt Ireland had done well in the first half but were left hanging on.

"it's only natural I suppose, but we sat back a bit when we scored and they picked it up.

But at the end of the day we got the three points. Stephen showed great composure for a young lad to get that all important goal."

Manager Steve Staunton admitted the performance had "not been great in the second half." He said, "We failed to keep the ball, in fact we gave it away cheaply and that allowed them to come onto us as we lost our shape.

But we beat them, and that has given us a platform going into Wednesday's game." He explained he hadn't started Kevin Doyle because he still wasn't match fit. "He got nearly half an hour today and we'll see how he is over the next few days and take it from there."