Nuno Espírito Santo hugged his coaching staff at the final whistle, then led his squad on a lap of appreciation around the London Stadium pitch.
West Ham United had won a Premier League match for the first time under the Portuguese Head Coach – and won it in style, 3-1 over Newcastle United.
It was a victory – the Hammers' first on home turf in eight months – that was saw Nuno's pre-match words put into action by his players.
After challenging Lucas Paquetá to rise to the challenge of wearing the No10 shirt, the Brazilian produced an outstanding all-round performance capped by a superb 25-yard equaliser.
After handing 22-year-old Freddie Potts a full Premier League debut and giving the Academy graduate and 21-year-old Mateus Fernandes the responsibility to man the midfield against experienced, proven top-flight players, they did just that.
After asking his players to produce a performance the Claret and Blue Army could be proud of, they did just that.
The result was a deserved come-from-behind win as Nuno’s team overcame the disappointment of falling behind, twice hitting the woodwork, having a penalty decision overturned and a goal for homegrown hero Potts disallowed for offside on review.
It is the first step, the Head Coach hopes, towards climbing the table and re-establishing the Hammers as a Premier League force.
It was a very important win for all of us at the Club.
The way the game started, we started really well. We hit the post in a fantastic move, then they go back on the counter and they score.
It felt like everything again was against us. We had a penalty overruled. But the team kept going, the boys kept working very hard, organised and playing good.
I think there were moments before [we scored] the [first] goal that we felt that the goal was there and truly deserved.
I think we achieved the draw and then the second goal because the ambition was there. That's for us the most important aspect of the game, the way we reacted against adversity.