Cardiff City held off a late Middlesbrough fightback to claim their first away win of the season at the Riverside Stadium.
Goals from Callum O'Dowda, Mark Harris and Perry Ng proved enough to see Cardiff over the line, despite Boro hitting back with two goals in a minute to set up a nervy finish on Teesside.
As you might expect, there was plenty to digest from an eventful evening...
An embodiment of Cardiff's season?
Steve Morison had said on several occasions that this season is likely to be "up and down", and after this victory you can kind of see what he's getting at.
Cardiff, who had previously scored once in their last five outings, were simply sublime in the first half and showcased exactly the sort of attacking bite that so many have longed for over the last few weeks. Indeed, there was something to admire about all three of Cardiff's goals during a rampant first period.
It all just seemed to click. In midfield, City dominated possession with triangles so neat they would be hung up and admired in Pep Guardiola's bedroom, while the back three defended magnificently, snuffing out danger at almost every opportunity. Boro, who were admittedly pretty poor, simply had no answer to it.
But the small section of travelling Cardiff City fans would be forgiven for feeling the performance after the break took a bit of the gloss off. It was perhaps inevitable Cardiff would take their foot off the gas a little in the second half, and Boro were so bad that an improvement was understandably hotly anticipated.
As the clock ticked over the the hour mark, Cardiff were on the back foot, but still looked reasonably comfortable in keeping the hosts at arm's length.
However, as the second half wore on, it didn't feel as sustainable, and there was sadly an air of inevitability to Boro's two goals, which arrived courtesy of some frustratingly naïve defending. Cardiff, previously oozing with confidence, were sloppy in possession and increasingly nervous at the back. Indeed, Isiah Jones ate up space in behind time and time again down Boro's right-hand side as the hosts pushed for a dramatic comeback.
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Fortunately, Cardiff survived, and it's worth stressing just how much character certain players showed to see them over the line - a huge and real positive for Morison.
But having offered so little, and having looked after the ball so poorly for much of the second 45 minutes, the truth is he wouldn't really have been able to complain too much had Boro snatched a point. Indeed, Chris Wilder's insistence that his side should have actually won the game was perhaps rather telling.
Having said all that, now that the dust has settled it does feel like a very good win on the road for City, and gives them something to build on ahead of Saturday's trip to Huddersfield Town. Morison himself pointed out afterwards that his side haven't always enjoyed the results he felt their performances deserved in recent weeks, and there were some genuinely encouraging signs that this team is starting to click.
Simpson announces himself
The former Rangers man has had to bide his time a little since his arrival in the capital, but on a night of several genuine positives, he was a shining light on Teesside.
Slotting in on the left-hand side of the back three, Simpson made more tackles than any other player, and put his body on the line on numerous occasions to keep Boro at bay. HIs late block to deny Jones summing up a colossal performance.
Morison was impressed too, but was keen to stress the importance of the change in system rather than any individual performances.
"I thought he was excellent," the Cardiff boss said. "In a three he's excellent. We had a plan in place at the start of this week before the Hull game got cancelled, and how the week was going to look, and what team we were going to play and the shape we were going to play throughout the week.
"We went to a three to match them up and it was the right call."
It was only Simpson's second start of the season, but on this evidence, it won't be his last.
Robinson strikes up early partnership
Cardiff's press conferences all followed the same pattern towards the end of the transfer window.
'Where's the striker? When are you going to get the striker? Why aren't you getting the striker now?' and so forth.
With that in mind, you'd forgive Callum Robinson for perhaps feeling a little under pressure to hit the ground running in a Cardiff shirt following his deadline-day move from West Bromwich Albion.
But making his first start, Robinson showed little sign of any nerves. In fact, it was quite the opposite, with the forward instead displaying a real desire to get on the ball at almost every possible opportunity.
He admittedly didn't really look like scoring himself, but the way he dropped deep to operate in the hole and create for his team-mates was truly impressive. It seemed to bring out the best in strike partner Mark Harris, but it's the understanding with old pal Callum O'Dowda that could really be one to keep an eye on.
"In training we've been doing a little bit of work and I'm still getting used to the boy," he said. "I haven't played a lot before tonight. Obviously I've played with Cal [O'Dowda] a few times and I know he likes that run in behind.
"So as soon as I picked my head up, he made my mind up with a lovely run and finished it off nicely."
Romeo's happier ending
The right-back had to be escorted down the tunnel after the defeat to former club Millwall after becoming visibly upset with taunts and jeers from the home crowd. The post-match scenes here were very different, with Romeo all smiles as he went with the rest of his team-mates to salute the travelling band of Cardiff fans.
He perhaps faded in his influence in the second half, but the way he expertly nullified the threat of Ryan Giles in the first 45 minutes meant he was more than deserving of such a warm reception.
There was even an Ayatollah thrown in for good measure. With so many new arrivals, fans are clearly still working on their emotional connection to this group of players, but it was a small indication that the bond between the supporters and the players is starting to make some headway.
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