Filed under: Euro 2012, Football
The last time Wales played Montenegro, it sparked a downward spiral in results.John Toshack, who presided over their opening-game qualifying loss, soon lost his job and Wales have been in freefall ever since.
Now 12 months on, and three managers later, perhaps their fortunes are going to change after a morale-boosting win over the same opponents on home soil.
But it wasn't just the result the success starved Welsh fans were craving for, it came with a performance to match.
The 2-1 win won't exactly send shockwaves around world football, even if Wales are ranked in a desperate 117th place in the Fifa world seedings, but it's a start.
Of course, it will be too much of an ask to expect them to follow that up by beating England at Wembley next week.
But instilling a winning mentality and confidence into a young side, who won a home qualifier for the first time in three years, is the priority and Gary Speed has taken the first step on the long road to achieving that aim.
Captain Aaron Ramsey, among the scorers at the Cardiff City Stadium, hopes his country's first points of their miserable Euro qualifying campaign can kick-start Wales into life.
He told the BBC: "It was a good result and we can take belief from it.
"It shows what we can do with the players we have. We can take pride from the way we defended when we were put under pressure.
"From this now we can take a lot of heart into the England game."
Despite their alarming slump, there are parellels between Speed's strugglers and the side Mark Hughes developed and took Wales to the brink of Euro 2004.
Having laid the building blocks, Hughes then got the best out a squad that relied heavily on Ryan Giggs.
Speed, part of that revival under Hughes, must take a leaf out of his former manager's book.
Speed, like Hughes, inherited a struggling side and both had the same limited managerial experience when they were appointed.
And where there was Giggs to turn to back then, there is now Gareth Bale.
Bale was a thorn in the Montenegro defence all night, providing the assist for one goal and creating a succession of other chances before being denied a deserved goal for himself.
The Tottenham winger has overcome his injuries and looks back to his best, displaying the same kind of form that blew away Inter Milan in the Champions League.
But for Speed, and his young charges, judgement day will come when the next World Cup campaign begins.
He must be hoping Bale can stay fit and display this kind of form then - and prove this Wales win was no flash in the pan.
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