Captain Steven Davis referenced Northern Ireland legend Gerry Armstrong after his side's 2-0 victory over Ukraine at Euro 2016 and stated: "Maybe we've got a new national hero now."
Gareth McAuley's superb second-half header laid the foundations for Northern Ireland's first win at a major championships since Armstrong's iconic goal against Spain at the 1982 World Cup, with Niall McGinn putting the game beyond doubt in injury-time.
Michael O'Neill's side had the better of the first-half chances and Southampton midfielder Davis described the moment the ball finally went in as ' just euphoria'.
"We had a few chances in the first half but couldn’t quite find the back of the net," Davis said.
"To see the net ripple was a great feeling and I think I just ran off on my own and did some sort of Klinsmann.
"Gerry has been talked about for a long time, maybe we have got a new national hero now.
"But you can’t pick out anybody. Gareth has had a magnificent game but everybody played their part. It was a hell of a team performance from everybody and that’s what it’s going to take from us to do anything in the competition.
"The one thing we spoke about was that we didn’t want to come in what the same feeling we had after the Poland game (a 1-0 defeat). We set the tone early on and didn’t relent and got our rewards in the end and fully deserved the victory.
"You don’t want to have any regrets. You have worked ever so hard to put ourselves in this position. We’re here on merit.
"That maybe got lost a little bit after our first game, where we maybe showed Poland too much respect.
"We wanted to go out and stamp our own authority on the game. Everybody worked their socks off. It was a great day and you have to cherish these moments."
They can't afford to cherish them for too long, though, as the result gives Northern Ireland a real chance of reaching the knockout stages with a final group game against favourites Germany to come.
"We realise we’re going to have to play in a certain way to get a result against Germany," Davis said. "We can’t be too open.
"One thing we spoke about before the start of the tournament was that we wanted to put ourselves in a position going into the final game with an opportunity to progress and we’ve done that. What’s not to look forward to?
"We’re going to play against the world champions in Paris with a full house of fans behind us again. We’ve ever so hard over the past couple of years to get here, now let’s go to enjoy it."
It was an emotional occasion for McGinn, who came off the bench to finish the game off from close range.
The former Derry City forward said: "It’s what dreams are made of and to score in a major tournament like this on a world stage is just unbelievable.
"There’s all sorts of emotions going through myself personally. The boys have been unbelievable.
"I think it was just an all-round perfect performance from the defence right through to the attack.
"I thought to a man right through from Michael [McGovern] to Conor [Washington]. I thought he was outstanding. He held the ball up well for us and out us on the front foot.
"We showed great hunger and it showed with the clean sheet and a good win."
