SOCCER: A good performance and a very good result, on a mucky, horrible night. Brian Kerr got what he wanted from the game, a good shape from his team, everyone doing their jobs, a result that will keep the confidence high and a few bits of magic from Damien Duff and Andy Reid. He really couldn't have asked for more.

I thought Portugal were a bit disappointing. I don't think they brought any shampoo with them because no one wanted to head it, especially in the first half when all the crosses were coming in.

And the goal was like a car crash. But they were still a good test for us, and despite having so many dangerous, talented attacking players we kept another clean sheet, which is excellent.

It was good to see Matt Holland back in the team after being so long out, but the truth is no matter what he does at Charlton he knows that if Roy Keane is fit he plays with Kevin Kilbane.

Where Kilbane has the edge over Holland is that he's got the legs, he covers the ground easier, he might get you a goal, he's very, very good at set-pieces and he has the ability to pop up on the left and deliver a decent cross.

I don't, then, expect Holland to break up the Keane-Kilbane partnership for the game against Israel next month, regardless of his club form.

The same applies to Richard Dunne, I think regardless of how well he's being doing for Manchester City he knows he's not going to break up the Kenny Cunningham-Andy O'Brien partnership.

Dunne got a bit of a chance last night but it's always difficult coming on as a defensive substitute, all you can really do is make a mistake. It's almost a no-win situation. If Cunningham or O'Brien gets injured I think Dunne's in, or if O'Brien doesn't play on a regular basis at Newcastle it might be tempting for Kerr to bring Dunne in, but they've done so well as a partnership you'd be very reluctant to split them up.

The worry for me about O'Brien has always been about his concentration, he can fall asleep a little bit. But when he plays alongside Cunningham that doesn't generally happen.

Whether it's O'Brien, Dunne or Gary Breen beside him, Cunningham tends to let them attack the ball while he picks up the bits and pieces. He takes a lot of responsibility away from the other centre backs and that makes it easy for them to play with him, he's an ideal partner for those three.

The real surprise in the game, for me, was that we finally saw a nasty side of Duff with that tackle on Ronaldo - it only took him 50 caps to show it. It seemed to be a case of "you won't take the limelight off me, pal". A coincidence, I'm sure, that it was a Manchester United player he almost crocked. But, again, we saw what a good player he is and between now and the Israel game Kerr will be praying that Duff, along with Roy Keane, stays fit: that's vital.

I honestly believe the way the group is shaping up we have to win in Israel if we are to automatically qualify. I just have a feeling the French will go there and win, which would put them in good shape again. Israel have had some good results of late so they'll be no respecter of reputations; they'll be thinking if they can get at us they will beat us.

In many ways Israel away will be a tougher fixture than France. There were no great expectations in Paris, but now because of our form people will expect us to go to Israel and win, but they'll have a real go.