The tears flowed and the joy was unconfined as Newcastle United finally exorcised the ghosts of 56 years of failure on a Wembley stage that has haunted them most.
When referee John Brooks sounded the final whistle to confirm their 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Liverpool, a giant black and white wave of celebration swept around the stadium that has delivered nine successive defeats since Newcastle won the 1955 FA Cup.
Finally, they had ended the long wait. It was 56 years since a major trophy landed on Tyneside in the shape of the long-defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the ensuing years an era when the club has become a punchline and punchbag for other fans to feast on.