Advantage Ireland is the call as Mick McCarthy prepares to take his team to Zagreb this morning in the wake of an emotive and at times hypercharged win over the top seeded team in Group Eight.

Time may teach that Croatia at home is the most difficult part of a punitive three games in eight days programme, but in terms of passion and purpose it can scarcely be more taxing than this.

After a couple of false dawns, this was the night when McCarthy probably felt he was closer than at any time in his regime to rediscovering the special charisma of the Jack Charlton years.

Sadly, victory came at a high price, for Roy Keane and Denis Irwin, two of the men that Croatia fear most, are unlikely to play after aggravating injuries in the second half.

McCarthy is reserving judgment on their fitness until this morning, but the early indications are that Keane is unlikely to travel because of a recurrence of hamstring trouble.

Irwin, it would seem, is less seriously injured, but a decision on his availability may not be taken until Saturday morning, when McCarthy is due to name his team after a training session in Zagreb.

On the evidence of last night's game, the loss of either or both players would be a substantial blow.

But for the moment, at least, it's not being allowed to dilute the satisfaction of a task undertaken with impressive vision and executed with unmistakable verve.

Even in its weakest links there was about the team a sense of commitment that eventually brought the Yugoslavs to heel. And after an anxious start, the growing volume of noise from the terraces testified to the approval of a restricted crowd measured at just over 33,000.

Charlton, viewing from the stands, can only have watched and admired as the Irish recovered from the shock of losing an early lead to hit the Yugoslavs with an expansive goal which caught perfectly the mood of the occasion.

Only minutes earlier the visitors appeared to have dug their way out of trouble with an equaliser which fell like the clap of doom on the stadium. That goal, no less than the two Irish strikes, matched the importance of the occasion. And in a very real way it testified to the quality of the teams who in Belgrade last October had produced another absorbing game.

There is of Robbie Keane the stuff of star quality, and he illustrated the point perfectly yet again last evening with the type of goal which has distinguished his young career.

Ireland, lucky not to have fallen behind as early as the 13th minute, had shaded a scoreless first half, but in spite of constant pressure they were still probing in vain for the decisive opening when the Coventry striker hurled his thunderbolt in the 54th minute.

Irwin's cross, clearing Niall Quinn's head, fell kindly for Keane at the edge of the penalty area, and the finish was breathtaking as the youngster, in moments he will treasure, measured the angle so precisely that goalkeeper Aleksander Kocic was stranded as the shot sped away into the far corner.

That was a thing of some beauty, and the crowd was still reflecting on the grandeur of it all when the Yugoslavs, giving substance to their reputation as lethal on the break, swept in for the equaliser just six minutes later.

Predrag Mijatovic, whose goal had undone the Irish in Belgrade, picked out Dejan Stankovic beginning a run on the opposite side of the penalty and matched the 40-yard pass to the runner so precisely that the midfielder, unnoticed, was able to converge and beat Alan Kelly all ends up with the clinical header.

The pain of that superb strike was all the greater for the Irish given that Quinn had come close to extending Ireland's lead within three minutes of Keane's goal.

Spotting Kocic off his line, he judged the 20-yard chip shot almost to the last spin of the ball. But the goalkeeper, apparently beaten, somehow found precious extra inches to fingertip the ball over the crossbar.

Another goal then might have eased the tension of the long countdown to the final whistle, but then that would have impinged in part on Mark Kennedy's dramatic winner in the 69th minute, one of the best Ireland goals seen at Lansdowne Road in years.

Ever since his Millwall days, when he scored a famous goal against Arsenal in a Cup tie at Highbury, the Dubliner has been capable of producing the occasional extravagant goal that defies all excuses. More recently, he produced another splendid effort to secure a 2-0 win over Sweden, but last night's rocket may prove the most memorable of the lot.

The danger appeared minimal as Roy Keane provided him with the ball some 30 yards out. But the Manchester City player went for broke and a magnificent shot, swerving viciously, cleared the goalkeeper's reach before dipping just in time to finish in the net.

Bigger prizes have been won in lesser moments of inspiration, but the immediate effect was to give Irish renewed confidence to cushion against the loss of Roy Keane. The Manchester United captain had often been quite magnificent, imposing in the tackle and talented enough to find the vacant spaces at times when others struggled for room.

His replacement, Lee Carsley, was never going to exert the same influence, and yet when the pressure came the Blackburn player was no less vigilant in ensuring the Yugoslavs were never allowed to run directly at the Irish centre backs, Gary Breen and Kenny Cunningham.

Until his abrupt departure, Irwin had been quite masterly at right back, but it is an indication of Steve Carr's emerging talent that he looked no less authoritative after the Manchester United player had been forced to retreat to the touchline.

Steve Staunton, under unusual pressure to prove himself at left back, did well, even if Stankovic strode into the penalty area unnoticed for his splendid goal. Behind them, Alan Kelly belied his lack of match practice at Blackburn this season with a flamboyant double save early in the game.

Mark Kinsella, growing in inspiration alongside Roy Keane, was another to make a telling impact, and, on either side of the two central midfielders, Kennedy and Kilbane knew some excellent moments.

Kilbane, in particular, was enterprising enough to spread raw panic into the Yugoslav defence in the first half. But, later, Kennedy would emerge to make his special contribution to the meaty drama.

Robbie Keane, in the majority opinion of the press, did enough to shade his namesake for the man of the match award. Alongside him, Quinn was as selfless as ever in his outpouring of energy as the Irish dug deep for the win which elevates them to the top of the group table.

Before the end, Tony Cascarino made his now familiar entrance to claim his 84th cap and oust no less a man than Paul McGrath as the Republic's most capped player. And if that sounds a little odd, it testifies to the remarkable durability of the French-based striker.

It was then a special night, even when judged on the most critical standards. At times it was quite breathtaking, but in the end even the Yugoslavs were prepared to grudgingly admit that on the night the better team had won.

If there were any doubts about the importance of the points at stake the frenzy of the early exchanges effectively put them to bed. There were times, many times, when pace outstripped perception, but for all that it was fairly captivating stuff.

In the end those expansive strikes by Robbie Keane and Kennedy would see Ireland safely home to port. Now, as McCarthy prepares to call up Graham Kavanagh, it's all systems go for the Irish.