If just a few minutes can spark an upturn in fortunes across a whole season then it will be those few minutes at Loftus Road on Saturday that Nottingham Forest supporters will be looking back on when the campaign ends.
Dougie Freedman's belief that his side had been on top against the promotion favourites was correct with new signings Chris O'Grady and Ryan Mendes adding the control, power and pace that their manager had thought they would.
But the Reds still seemed set for a morale-sapping defeat when Charlie Austin struck and few would have expected the chain of events that begun when R's goalkeeper Robert Green failed to control a difficult back-pass.
Henri Lansbury's penalty and Nelson Oliveira's well-taken debut goal secured an unexpected and pleasing three points.
Tuesday night and a resurgent Birmingham City side who been one of the Championship's form teams in 2015 will provide an early indicator as to whether Saturday was a one-off or the start of something better for the Reds.