Few people will have seen that Cardiff City performance against Leeds United coming. Especially if you have followed them closely over the last couple of months.
Neither team has registered a win since November 5 and, following Leeds' stoppage-time equaliser through Sonny Perkins to force an FA Cup third round replay, that still remains the case.
But there is no doubting that Bluebirds supporters left Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday with an extra spring in their step and, perhaps, filled with renewed hope that this squad can be better than they have shown in the first half of the campaign.
Given how goal-shy Cardiff have been this season, they are the Championship's bottom scorers, it was encouraging to see them shoot out of the blocks and take the game to Leeds. Credit to Mark Hudson, too, who selected a bold, attacking line up, full of pace and with a blend of brawn and creativity in the middle of the park.
The hosts took a 2-0 lead into half time thanks to fine goals from Jaden Philogene and Sheyi Ojo, and the Match of the Day pundits on Sunday night waxed lyrical about City's performance in the first 45 minutes.
Asked how Cardiff got the better of Leeds in the first half, former Everton midfielder Leon Osman replied: "With energy. With desire to outwork Leeds. To get the ball forward and to make sure they got numbers forward.
"They really scared Leeds in the first half. When you see how quickly they got forward and they were prepared to chase everything.
"Ojo played in an inside left position, which Leeds found quite difficult to pick up for most of the afternoon. Davies played up top on his own and he chased everything, putting Struijk under pressure.
"You'd say they deserved it because they completely outworked Leeds in the first half. Jesse Marsch said he wasn't happy and he had every right to be. He made changes but they were below par. Cardiff weren't."
Hudson said after the match he felt Cardiff executed their game plan perfectly and few could argue the contrary. Leeds being able to introduce multi-million-pound players off the bench in the second half was always going to present Cardiff with a tough task, though.
Ex-Manchester City and QPR centre-back Nedum Onuoha conceded as much in his post-match analysis. However, he believed Leeds' first goal, Rodrigo's header, was avoidable.
Asked if Cardiff took too negative an approach in the second half, Onuoha said: "Perhaps they were on reflection. But it's a tough thing to just be on the front foot when you have a 2-0 lead and it's not like they have much confidence, because they are not winning week in, week out. If they were, maybe they would have approached it differently.
"Leeds, in fairness, they made changes like bringing on their top scorer, Rodrigo, to come on and have a big impact."
Highlighting the Spaniard's goal, Onuoha said: "This is so criminal. He is their top scorer, and I know it's a quick corner, but he is standing free in the six-yard box.
"The fact he is able to head that in and no one lays a glove on him, that's something they can try and deal with; they had the bodies in there. Just a bit too passive."
Of course, the big flashpoint in the game came when it was nearing its conclusion. The Bluebirds were clinging on to a slender one-goal advantage when the Premier League side threw all their might at nabbing an equaliser.
Junior Firpo thought he had got his team back on terms when he tried slotting the ball into the corner, only to see young Joel Bagan stick out a left paw to tip it around the corner.
Onuoha was certainly impressed by the left-back's cat-like reactions.
"The Bagan one, I didn't even see it in real time. I had no idea what happened," he said. "It caught everybody on guard, everyone thought it was going to be a goal. It's a fantastic save!
"If there weren't five Leeds players going and harassing the referee, maybe he would have got away with it."
Osman waded in: "As a player, you make that decision and hope your team can stay in the game. And it worked out OK for Cardiff."
Cardiff will play Leeds at Elland Road in the replay on either Tuesday, January 17 or Wednesday, January 18, subject to TV selection.
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