Limbs were sent in every direction imaginable as Michael Obafemi drilled into the net to earn Swansea City a dramatic 3-2 win over West Brom on Saturday.
It was the striker's second goal of the week following his sublime effort for Republic of Ireland against Armenia in the Nations League four days earlier. And having bagged the decisive goal at The Hawthorns Stadium, Obafemi rightly earned the praise of his head coach Russell Martin.
The forward thanked the Jack Army - who chanted his name when he was summoned from the bench in the 62nd minute and again after his goal and following the full-time whistle. It served as a timely reminder of the benefit of a goal, particularly for a player who was jeered on his most recent outing against Hull City.
Having gone ahead early on, Swansea appeared destined to leave the Midlands with nothing to show for their efforts after struggling for a long period following their bright start. Jake Livermore and Grady Diangana both struck after Matty Sorinola's sixth-minute opener - and Swansea's creativity was alarmingly lacking.
But this side is now different and Martin could turn to his bench with genuine optimism rather than deep concern. Olivier Ntcham and Obafemi both made a huge impact during their short spells on the pitch, with the former scoring his side's second goal before registering an assist for the latter to strike the third at the death.
Indeed, it once again highlighted the immense quality Cameroon international Ntcham possesses. He was heavily criticised for his lacklustre cameo in the 1-1 draw at Stoke City in August, although this showing was entirely different.
The 26-year-old showed a steely determination to impress while his footballing ability shone through as the Swans came from behind to win a match for the first time since their 3-2 triumph at Peterborough United in March.
"We've not quite seen the best of Olivier yet this season but he was outstanding today," said Martin. "He got made angry in the first couple of minutes he was on. Maybe we need to look at making Olivier angry most weeks in some way, but he was great, he was fantastic."
The big-game players ultimately turned up when it mattered, but the collective improvement from the squad was also evident yet again. Steven Benda made a number of important saves while also spectacularly using his legs to keep out Karlan Grant's penalty in a moment Martin described as the game's key turning point.
Elsewhere, Ben Cabango, Ryan Manning and Nathan Wood maintained their impressive levels, although it was the first goal scorer Sorinola who arguably best typified the Swans' recent resurgence. The Union SG loanee has grown with time this season, and he was on hand to chest home his first goal for the club.
It comes after he has notched assists for the likes of Joel Piroe and Manning in recent weeks, and Martin feels that the 21-year-old turned in his best display in a Swans shirt to date at West Brom.
"He was great today, it was his best game, no doubt," said Martin. "He was so defensively reliable against a player who is a really top talent.
"Matty just needs to believe himself as much as we do. He's a guy finding his feet at this level.
"We have a lot of players who have not played many games at this level. They need to start believing in themselves as much as we do, that's the biggest challenge for us as a group of coaching staff."
It's a case of one down, 10 to go as far as the current brutal block of fixtures are concerned. You'd suspect most supporters would have been happy with a point from the clash against the Baggies, although the Swans now travel to Watford having won three of their last four fixtures.
The mood around the club is vastly different to what it was around a month or so ago as Martin's men had won just one of their opening eight games in all competitions. But many of the performances in that run were encouraging, and the belief of the coaching staff that results would improve if those performance levels were maintained is now being fully justified.
More tough tests lie ahead prior to the World Cup break, but with the depth, quality and confidence Swansea now possess, October has the potential to be a fruitful month for the club.
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