"I thought we played far, far better in the
"I give my hearty congratulations and a pat on the back to
all the players," added McCarthy.
McCarthy, vulnerable after his shock decision to axe Keane,
delivered a half-time team talk to rouse his players.
"We were individually and collectively poor in the first
"We sorted a few things out at half-time...there's a sign on
the board (in the dressing room) saying 'No Regrets', and we all
know it's there.
"The players went out after the break and made
sure we didn't have any.
"If we had played in the first half the way we did in the
second, we would have had a few."
McCarthy felt goalscorer Holland had been man of the match.
"But Mark Kinsella was not far behind,"
"Together they were superb...I bear no malice (to Keane) in
that comment, but the pair were under a lot of pressure to
perform and I thought they were magnificent."
Kinsella, who effectively replaced Keane in the starting
line-up, said: "It's not about one man, the team spirit here is
"We worked really hard for each other and got our rewards."
Holland added: "Any team would miss a world class player like
Roy Keane, but we have no choice and I think we did well.
"The coach told us not to waste two years of hard work in the
space of one game. It worked and we responded."
Holland declared himself more than satisfied with the result.
Trailing to Patrick Mboma's first-half strike, the Ipswich midfielder produced a sweetly-struck right-foot shot from 25 yards to equalise in the 52nd minute.
And that sparked a spell of Irish pressure which almost saw them snatch a winner.
But Holland was happy that the side had got a point on the board in their first game.
"In the second half we had a lot of chances but but it was a good performance nonetheless and we are pleased with the result," said Holland.
"I scored a couple like that in the qualifying games and it was nice to do it here.
"Hopefully it will stand us in good stead. It was a crucial that we didn't get beat today and let's see what we can do from here."
Ireland face Germany in their second group game on Wednesday,
before winding up their group E campaign against Saudi Arabia on 11