THE craic was indeed mighty.

And plenty of it was political. An inspired Paddy Power billboard featuring Roy Keane daubed in green-and-white Braveheart-style war paint set the tone, reading 'You may take our points. But at least we have our freedom (ya wee pussies!)'.

While some good-natured goading of their guests about their ongoing attachment to the United Kingdom continued after the final whistle, in truth that advertising campaign was prescient. When all was said and done, Scotland had taken the Republic of Ireland's points, four of the six available from these two fixtures. The Tartan Army had also taken plenty of their pints, the second instalment of a double bill of England and Scottish supporters in the space of a week which had essentially drunk Dublin dry with negligible amounts of trouble. They had done so by distilling the Braveheart spirit, although this was equal parts a refusal to bow to the physical intimidation of a boisterous Republic side, and crucially the freedom to get on the ball and express themselves in a vastly improved second half performance.

While the political dimension is rather more complicated, the most appropriate comparison for these anguished, derby-style encounters between these two Celtic cousins was indeed an Old Firm game. So perhaps it was appropriate that it all should end with a former Celtic manager (Martin O'Neill) castigating a former Rangers player (Steven Naismith) for unduly influencing a referee.

Gordon Strachan lauded Italian official Niccola Rizzoli for his handling of this match. This was mainly for his willingness to let play flow, as opposed to his leniency in dealing with James McCarthy's flying elbow on Russell Martin, or the fact Jon Walters was in an offside position when he gave the hosts the lead. But it struck a raw nerve with O'Neill, presaging a rare outbreak of disharmony between two men who between them managed Celtic to nine generally successful seasons during the 90s.

What this outrage from O'Neill spoke of was frustration - that a campaign which began with so much promise is starting to get away from the Republic of Ireland. This was their 'must win' game and they had failed to win it, even if his starting line-up had functioned more efficiently than Strachan's. His players had carried out his instructions vigorously and to the letter, there were strong performances from the likes of Marc Wilson, Wes Hoolahan, James McCarthy and Daryl Murphy, and they had this match where they wanted it at half-time. Yet ultimately they still couldn't get the job done.

Gordon Strachan, on the other hand, had deftly sidestepped a question at a media conference this week which compared his contribution to boosting Scottish national morale with those of Nicola Sturgeon. But a bit like her appearance on a US talk show this week, the Scotland manager continues to succeed in finding the right answers to the most awkward questions.

In every sport, the best coaches are the ones who can read the way the wind is blowing and make that critical in-game adjustment at the opportune moment. And not for the first time in this campaign, and indeed in this fixture, Strachan's tactical tinkering paved the way for Scottish success.

He tacitly admitted afterwards that he had overthought the starting situation when playing Matt Ritchie instead of Ikechi Anya wide left, leaving the players themselves somewhat spooked and unsure of how to approach their task. The thrusts of Seamus Coleman were causing a problem down the right and Robbie Brady's dead-eyed dead-ball deliveries were whizzing across our six yard box.

Football, ultimately, is about what players you have at your disposal. But the slightest adjustment in formations or mindset can sometimes pay huge dividends. At Celtic Park in November, when the Republic's early aerial assault was causing our centre halves problems, a trademark Strachan tweak saw midfielders Scott Brown and Charlie Mulgrew drop back a few yards further back. This encouraged the Republic to make a short easy pass into midfield, rather than going long early. Almost imperceptibly their style of play changed, allowing Scotland a great degree of comfort.

Rather than dither, this time Strachan's alteration was to introduce the energy of Anya down the left, and suddenly Coleman became a non factor, while Naismith pushed up nearer to Steven Fletcher. Scotland were back in their default setting now but even still there was a fortuitousness about the way the goal went in, Maloney's wild shot taking a generous deflection off John O'Shea's shoulder, and removing the wind from the Republic's sails.

At times during that second period we were back to Strachan's Scotland blueprint, clever technical players finding little pockets of space, and the football being kept away from the opposition, but the goal which would have made things easy for us didn't arrive. Seasoned watchers of the national football team, of course, will know that just isn't the Scotland way.

The abiding sensation is one of relief that, as much fun as they were, these games are out the way. Now Scotland can get back to playing normal football, with national hopes of a return to a major championships after an 18-year absence burning brighter than ever on the back of five competitive matches unbeaten for the first time since 2001. Win in Tbilisi in September, the venue of a horror 2-0 defeat there in October 2007, and Scotland will be in good shape for a play-off place at worst, with free hits to come at Hampden against both Germany and Poland for automatic qualification. Long-suffering Scotland fans have the freedom to dream a little while longer.