Southampton fans travelled to Wembley for the FA Cup semi‑final against Manchester City with hope more than expectation.
We knew we'd win the battle off the pitch – our support is always exceptional on the big days – but the question was whether our team, on a 20‑match unbeaten run, could trouble the best team in England in their second home?
Yes it could.
Tonda Eckert, who has managed fewer games (35) than Pep Guardiola has won trophies (40), produced a gameplan that that was executed perfectly as we arrived in the 79th minute, goalless.
You often hear a phrase these days that games are decided by moments… and did we have a moment?
Finn Azaz pirouetted onto a square pass from Kuryu Matsuki and curled a stunning effort beyond James Trafford.
Pandemonium amongst the yellow wall at the west end of Wembley and for two surreal minutes, it was on.
We had, however, poked the bear, and the gameplan of defending the penalty area was no longer enough as City, now reinforced by Pep, from their ridiculous bench, began shooting from range.
Doku equalised via a heavy deflection, and after Matsuki forced a save at the other end, González — a £50m squad player that City barely use — unleashed a ridiculous strike to turn the game.
This semi‑final will go down as a heroic failure. In football's brutal reality, all you can take from those is confirmation that you're heading the right way – and Southampton, Tonda, these players and these fans undoubtedly are.
The yellow wall applauded the players and kept singing, as the players looked on in awe at the end of the game.
It may have been a defeat, but the experience will fuel this squad for the promotion-deciding games that remain, and we will be proudly behind them.
Manchester City or Chelsea will lift the FA Cup this year, and in a year's time, few will remember it.
The magic of the competition still exists – especially on the 50th anniversary of Southampton's most magical day.
But on this occasion, magic alone wasn't quite enough to overcome the inequalities between the two sides.
Yellows!
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