GORDON Strachan said repeatedly going into this match that you never know whether a point is good or bad until the end of a campaign. But this one, gained in a brutal encounter that was pitched somewhere between football and ultimate fighting in the Aviva Stadium, certainly felt pretty good for this group of Scotland players, their manager and the massed ranks of their travelling fans.

It means Scotland have got the thick end of the points up for grabs against their Celtic cousins, and keeps them two points clear of them in the Group D table. Fans of both countries have joined in good-natured craic here for the last few days, but these players don't half enjoy beating up on each other.

It was the associations of Scotland and Republic of Ireland who jointly came up with a plan to expand the European Championship finals to 24 teams but unfortunately they didn't manager to gerrymander things efficiently enough to ensure that both could make it to France. The FAI were forced to shred some 18,000 copies of the match programme and re-print others after some injudicious comments from chief executive John Delaney about corruption at Fifa and while their hopes of reaching France next summer remain alive for now, there is an increasing possibility that they too are headed for the shredder.

This was a high risk game of poker between two managers who know each other inside out. Cards had been played close to chests for weeks, months even.

To be fair, Martin O'Neill had some rather major issues to contend with. Robbie Keane, who had lost two of his cousins in a tragic sewer accident in County Dublin during the week, was only deemed suitable for a late appearance from the bench, and Aiden McGeady, laid low by a niggling hamstring problem, not even that. In their stead came one time Livingston kid Wes Hoolahan, attempting to support twin battering rams in the form of Stoke City's Jon Walters and one-time Celtic flop Daryl Murphy. There was a lump in the throat when a minute's applause was punctuated by chants of 'Keano', but instead of Keane's record 65 international goals, the Republic starting line-up had just 16 between them.

Worried about this bombardment, Gordon Strachan's remedy was to bring Craig Forsyth in for Andy Robertson to provide additional ballast at left back. It was his first competitive start and there was a second for Matt Ritchie, the Bournemouth winger who was preferred to Ikechi Anya on the left.

Assistant Mark McGhee spent the start of the match high in the stand and what he saw was an unfamiliar back four in which the likes of Martin and Forsyth appeared ill at ease early on. One man who was available for O'Neill, though, was James McCarthy, the Glasgow-born former Hamilton Accies player dispelling any questions of his loyalties when playing against the country of his birth by putting Scott Brown on the seat of his pants early on.

Aside from one enterprising quick corner and a Steven Fletcher shot which stung the palms of Shay Given, Scotland had little to shout about in that opening period. They rarely kept the ball as their manager would have wanted and consequently found themselves hemmed in.

This was a wounded Republic of Ireland team, playing with a desperation that betrayed how much they needed this result, even if they almost let their emotions spill over at times. McCarthy got the benefit of the doubt from Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli when he led with an arm in an aerial tussle with Russell Martin, catching him on the nose with the point of his elbow.

Neil Lennon era Celtic spent around £1m on the talents of Daryl Murphy, only to be rewarded with a paltry return of nine starts and three goals, but this was an act of vengeance on the Scottish game. Now 32, he racked up an outstanding 27 goals for an Ipswich side which failed in the play-offs, and when balls are flashing across your box like they did yesterday he can be an effective customer.

One header was tipped over by David Marshall, before he saw that one of Robbie Brady's expert dead ball deliveries finally got what it deserved. His desire to get on the end of the Hull man's corner was too great for both Steven Naismith and Mulgrew and when his close range header rebounded off Marshall, Walters steered it into the bottom corner. The only problem with all this was that two linesman and the referee had entirely missed the fact that he had been a good yard offside when it all occurred.

In any case, Scotland were staring hard at being leapfrogged by the Republic at half-time and Strachan decided it was time for a change. Off came Ritchie, who had rarely threatened, and on came Anya, and within minutes Scotland's day had taken a turn for the better. Two of the little guys, Maloney and Anya, worked an opening and the Chicago Fire franchise player took the opportunity to steer in a low left foot curler which flicked off the luckless John O'Shea and deposited itself into the bottom corner.

Scotland had the game back in the position they wanted it, able to pick off the Republic's desperate thrusts, but they almost surrendered it all immediately. Murphy was played in on goal but his low left foot shot was saved by the feet of Marshall.

There were fleeting moments of huge promise for Scotland, mainly involving Anya, but the visitors weren't too displeased about getting away from here with a draw. Keane tested Marshall and his fellow sub James McClean headed wide, while Given pawed at a deflected Anya cross and a Naismith shot hit the prone body of Fletcher. Both sides had just about played themselves to a standstill before the Italian referee's whistle brought some respite but Scotland's hopes live on.

Teams: Republic of Ireland (4-3-1-2): Given; Coleman, O'Shea , Wilson, Brady; Hendrick, Whelan (McClean 68), McCarthy; Hoolahan (Keane 73); Walters, Murphy (Long 80).

Subs not used: Forde, Westwood, Keogh, McGeady, Meyler, Christie, Ward, Quinn, McGoldrick

Scotland (4-2-3-1): Marshall; Hutton, Martin, Mulgrew, Forsyth; Brown (McArthur 85), Morrison; Ritchie (Anya 45), Maloney, Naismith (Berra 90); S Fletcher.

Subs not used: Gordon, Samson, Whittaker, D Fletcher, Adam, Greer, Robertson, Forrest, Griffiths

Referee: N Rizzoli

Booked: Republic of Ireland: Whelan 20, McCarthy 30, McClean 88. Scotland: Naismith 88