Michael O'Neill is still awaiting his first win as Northern Ireland manager but last night's 3-3 draw against Finland at last gave him some genuine reasons for optimism.
A 3-0 defeat at home to Norway followed by a 6-0 thrashing in Holland saw O'Neill's tenure get off to a rocky beginning, but in his final friendly assignment before World Cup qualifying gets under way the former Shamrock Rovers boss saw some clear progress at Windsor Park.
Having drawn blanks in the first two matches under O'Neill - a familiar result from the Nigel Worthington era - the goals finally came.
Shane Ferguson and Martin Paterson topped and tailed the night's scoring with their maiden international goals, while Kyle Lafferty marked his return to the side after injury with his ninth senior strike.
"Obviously in the first two games we didn't manage to score so it was nice to get three tonight...albeit without managing to win the game," said O'Neill.
"It's always nice to score, it's important for me and the team to score goals" - Michael O'Neill
"I thought Kyle was excellent on the night. He's a big player for us, no doubt about that.
"The difference with Kyle in the team (is huge). He gives the team a focal point and his movement and his all-round quality was top drawer.
"I'm pleased for Martin too. For any striker, when they step up to international level it's important to get off the mark.
"And I'm pleased for Shane. He's a player with a big future, not just at club level but also with us at international level.
"Since I came in he's probably been one of the brightest aspects of it and it was great to see him get off the mark with a great finish."
The night was not without negatives, of course, with Northern Ireland throwing away a 2-0 advantage in the space of two second-half minutes and Chris Brunt particularly culpable for the second with a sloppy back-pass.
O'Neill, whose next assignment - Russia away - is perhaps the toughest he will face in qualification, was content to take a balanced view on proceedings.
"There were aspects to be pleased about and aspects to work on," he said.
"I thought in the first 20 minutes we were excellent, scored two very good goals but we lost a goal and we lost a wee bit of belief.
"The second goal in particular, the nature of it, hurt us from a confidence point of view.
"That those two goals came so soon after each other knocked a wee bit of the belief out of us.
"So it was encouraging to see them in the last 15-20 minutes get that belief back and get back level. There's no doubt we showed great character having gone behind."
Finland coach Mixu Paatelainen felt aggrieved not to be leaving Belfast with a victory.
"I am very, very disappointed not to win that match," he said.
"I thought we played good football, passed the ball well and controlled the game thoroughly from start to finish.
"But the way we defended on three occasions was poor with a capital 'P'.
"We just needed to be a bit sharper mentally."
