When the final whistle finally blew at Hayes Lane on Sunday, there was a sense that something had shifted in the perception of London City Lionesses.
Their thrilling 4-2 win over Tottenham felt like not merely three points but a watershed moment in London City's debut Women's Super League campaign.
It meant they climbed to the top half of the table with four wins in eight matches.
They had already beaten Everton, Liverpool and West Ham - the bottom three - this season, but this was different.
Tottenham came into the match flying high - with 15 points collected from a possible 21 making for their best ever start to a WSL campaign.
But the promoted side matched them with poise, pace and purpose of a team that showed they belong in the big league, impressing not just with the result but also the manner in which it was achieved.
So when an excruciatingly long period of stoppage time was brought to an end, the Lionesses knew they had achieved something significant.
Manager Jocelyn Precheur spoke of "a good performance that will give us the confidence and the energy to keep improving even more".
Freya Godfrey opened the scoring early, while Nikita Parris struck in her 200th WSL appearance, but Spurs clawed their way back on both occasions through a Cathinka Tandberg penalty and an Eveliina Summanen free-kick.
A late own goal from Amanda Nilden helped the hosts reclaim the lead before a second strike from Godfrey sealed the win.
"It was an important game for us to decide which part of the table we can stay [in]," said former Paris St-Germain boss Precheur.
"I prefer to go game after game. I don't like to talk about vision and where we can be in the table at the end of the season. It's really important to keep this dynamic.
"Despite the fact that we're improving, I think we're yet to achieve our full potential. It's about how we can keep improving again. This will give the players the energy to keep developing."
Precheur may steer clear of precise predictions, but his is a clear message that London City can carry on moving up in their world.
After splitting from Millwall in 2019, London City were a fixture in the second tier, but the arrival of American businesswoman Michele Kang, who bought the club when they were on the brink of liquidation in late 2023, has seen their fortunes change.
Money has changed their world, a rush of star players creating a team with elite aspirations. Promoted in May, what can the big-spending, clear-thinking Lionesses go on to achieve in their debut top-flight season?
"We said from the start, we're not here to fight relegation, we're here to prove we're in this league now, we're not here to go back down," said their two-goal hero Godfrey.
"We're here and we're here to compete."
Precheur added: "What are our limits this season? It's up to the players to answer this question."
The only top-tier WSL side not to have an affiliated professional men's team, London City were promoted as winners of last season's Championship.
For now they sit sixth with 12 points - nine points behind leaders Manchester City and eight behind reigning champions Chelsea after eight rounds of games.
Manchester United are third with 17 points, while rival capital outfits Arsenal and Tottenham are only three points better off that London City at this stage.
Victory against Tottenham was their third straight win on home soil, with all four of their wins coming against sides that finished in the bottom half of the table last season.
All four of their defeats have come against last season's top four of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City.
They could hardly be trending any more mid-table if they tried, but London City have higher aspirations.
Promoted sides have dropped straight back to the second tier in the past two seasons, with Bristol City and Crystal Palace finishing bottom in 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively.
Not only are London City on course to avoid following suit, their 12-point haul at this stage of the season has only been bettered by one other promoted side in WSL history.
That was Sunderland, who, with a young Beth Mead scoring goals for fun, collected 15 points after eight games during the eight-team 2015 season. They finished fourth - only collecting five more points in their remaining six games.
Only three other promoted sides have collected 12 points at this stage: Manchester United and Tottenham in 2019-20 and Manchester City - who were given a top-flight place after a reshuffle of the leagues - in 2014.
Godfrey said of the ambitious Lionesses: "We've showed that we're not another team that's going to get promoted and relegated the next year.
"The direction this club is looking to go is up. We want to show this club is going to be a mainstay in English football for the foreseeable future."
The star of their latest triumph was undoubtedly Godfrey, who grabbed two goals and an assist.
They were the 20-year-old's first goals for the club since her loan move from Arsenal in January which was made permanent in July.
Godfrey managed three assists in eight Championship appearances following her switch, but it has taken her until November to announce herself in the top flight after missing the first weeks of the season with injury.
She is part of a star-studded London City squad which boasts players like Grace Geyoro, Parris, Danielle van de Donk, Katie Zelem and Kosovare Asllani.
Precheur never had doubts about Godfrey, who is already an England Under-23 international and surely destined for the senior national team Lionesses before too long.
"When she arrived in January, I saw her potential but she really lacked the confidence," the London City manager said.
"As I told her many times, it's normal to have a lack of confidence when you're a young player. I am happy for her but I just told her it's just the beginning for her."