You know a relentless tide of depression has been truly turned when your team are way out of tune yet go two goals up in the first quarter of an hour.
Then, having gifted the opposition a comeback goal through poor defending early second half, they are passed to death amid dripping tension yet win once again.
So it was for Newcastle and their merry Magpie followers. This when United have given away a shedful of points from winning positions this season and were playing their bogey side. In other words in times gone by United would have certainly lost a game they duly won.
Certainly when Steve Bruce brought nervous apprehension to black and white play and, yes, straight after Eddie Howe inherited a side in November that was winless throughout 11 games.
Brighton had never been defeated in nine previous PL meetings with United and incredibly boasted two victories and two draws on Tyneside. On any other day this would have been their 10th unbeaten but this Newcastle side is made of sterner stuff under new management and ownership.
The Seagulls were pretty but powderpuff. United outplayed but spirited and utterly determined. As a consequence United extended their undefeated run to eight matches, unbowed this calendar year, and serial points gatherers.
Dan Burn was big and proud at the heart of an overworked defence standing out like Grey's Monument, Joelinton grafted like an overgrown beaver in the midfield battleground, and Ryan Fraser added a goal and an assist to his usual workaholic traits.
Big Joe needed to display his battling qualities because where United's threesome have dominated in the middle of the park of late both Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock were off the pace. United had failed to score in all four of their meetings with Brighton at SJP yet by the 14th minute had managed it twice.
First Chris Wood struck a magnificent ball from his own half into the path of the overlapping Jacob Murphy as Albion's defence opened up the way the Swing Bridge once used to do. Murphy galloped on to clip a shot against the far post for Fraser to tuck in the rebound.
Then before Brighton could check their bad luck a Fraser free-kick saw Fabian Schar on the hoof to whip a lethal header into the net at the front post. What a transformation he has been.
United's passing usually ended up with them giving the ball away, often not under pressure, while Brighton painted pretty pictures but all to no avail. They made the pitch wide with wing backs hugging the touchline getting forward quickly and the game took on a different completion when the visitors pulled a goal back on 54 minutes.
A left wing corner was dropped well inside United's six yard box and ought to have been the keeper's ball all day but Martin Dubravka went missing as Lewis Dunk got up unchallenged to head home. Bad goal. Game on.
United dropped deeper and deeper in an effort to hold on to what they had, even though Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall urged them to push up. Top guns Allan Saint-Maximin and Bruno Guimaraes were sent on to try and relieve the pressure but the pattern remained set in stone.
However this United displayed no soft underside when the going got tough. They dug in instead of rolling over and having their belly tickled. Not pretty but pretty effective. Sometimes you have to win this way and they did.
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GEORDIE football fundraisers in Hungary have leapt to the help of war-torn neighbours Ukraine. With refugees pouring over their border to escape the terror of Putin's invasion those living in the capital Budapest are doing their bit to help.
Matt Watson-Broughton, the Newcastle born Magpie fanatic who wrote a book called The Amazing Journey to commemorate the 50th anniversary of United's famous European Fairs Cup win, resides on the banks of the Danube where in 1969 glory was clinched not that many years after another conflict, the Hungarian Uprising, was brutally put down by the Russians.
He told me: "It's overwhelming here to be honest _ thousands of refugees streaming through Budapest, most with nothing and nowhere to go. Border points are even worse _ crushes, people being lost from families, charities struggling to get enough supplies to feed and clothe them.
"Everyone is trying their best to help and many are hosting families or delivering supplies to the border and driving refugees to Budapest on their way back.
"Even the football club I run organised a fundraising quiz and auction at short notice the other night and raised nearly £1500 in donations. One lad (a fellow Geordie called Liam) even bid £80 for a simple yellow Ukraine mini-football donated by one of our Ukrainian teammates who was brave enough to come and thank the audience for their generosity."
Football can be a uniting force in times of crisis.
