One long wait was followed by another and then came the charming realisation that neither knee injuries nor the delays of the VAR system are much of a match for Danny Ings.
How delightful to see him back after more than five weeks of treatment and rehabilitation, and how delightfully predictable that he then turned this match barely half an hour after coming on as a substitute.
He did so with a penalty nine minutes from time, but only after riding the nerves of another lengthy video referral saga, given the referee David Coote had originally decided to award a free-kick against Solly March for his lunging challenge on Kyle Walker-Peters.