Oleksandr Petrakov punched the Glasgow sky as his players collapsed, every ounce of their mental and physical fortitude poured into the mammoth effort of taking a war-ravaged Ukraine one step closer to a World Cup which would mean so much.
The temptation was to peer on this scene and wonder quite how this group have any hope of replicating it when they travel to Cardiff on Sunday.
Perhaps what happened next offers an answer.
In the raw, emotional press conference that took place in the bowels of Hampden Petrakov veered between matter-of-fact – “We go to Cardiff” he answered when asked what comes next for his miracle makers – and laying down the brutality of the war being visited on his homeland. He spoke of the women and children “dying every day” at the hands of Russian forces.
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They have clearly found a way of harnessing the undoubted talent at their disposal and channelling the horror of what their country has been through into an energy that can carry them to Qatar. They are the neutral’s pick.
For Wales, as cruel as it sounds, stripping away the emotion of the occasion is their only option. For all that the pre-match build up suggested Ukraine would need to keep their faculties in check, it was the hosts who failed to manage the occasion.
Scotland’s charity transcended an evening which will live long in the memory, applauding the Ukrainian national anthem while supporters milled around beforehand looking for anyone clad in blue and white to offer embraces, fist bumps or kind words to.
But the slightly surreal air meant Hampden never elevated itself to the level of the occasion. It is a crucible that relies on a certain level of hostility to cow opponents while lifting the spirits of those in blue but none of that happened.
Wales will not want to ignore the wider ramifications of Ukraine’s presence in the capital on Sunday but to succeed, they will need to replicate the sort of intensity that has propelled them through this World Cup qualification campaign.
They are a better side than Scotland, driven by a world class performer who reserves his best for his country in Gareth Bale, but few would suggest they are overwhelming favourites after Ukraine’s astonishing demolition job in midweek.
Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko was the man of the match on Wednesday but he had competition. Right winger Viktor Tsygankov, of Dinamo Kiev, was equally impressive.
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Their clinical defeat of Scotland came with one caveat – the chaos at the end which suggested tiring limbs could be an issue. For Wales to win they might have to rely on that and for Robert Page to avoid the over complication that undermined Scotland, who had suffered injuries and a loss of form of their own.
Wales, by contrast, appear to be closer to their peak. It is a fascinating contest, imbued with significance far beyond the prize of a place at the World Cup. The world will be watching.
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