It was one of the landmark moments in this club's history and, as so often happens in football, it occurred in the microseconds it takes for the flash of a boot to strike just one pivotal goal.
In the 106th minute under the relentless beating of north London sun and south London faithful, it was Kevin Phillips who watched his teammate - a 20-year-old Wilfried Zaha - felled clumsily in the Watford box in the 2013 play-off semi-final and, at the back of his mind, he knew what would happen next.
Wembley's 82,000-strong crowd did not, however, and held its breath in unison before splitting back in two; with one side erupting as a hoard of 33,000: balloons, tape et al cast away triumphantly.