Stood behind Illan Meslier, the Accrington Stanley ultras, as they call themselves, bobbed and danced in unison. They relished a moment that, had not arrived, would have been unjust.
Even though the tie was long done, Leslie Adekoya’s goal was a fair reward for an afternoon that, for a long while, felt as if it might stir something. For over an hour, Stanley were progressive and caused more problems than Leeds United might have initially envisaged.
They unsettled Leeds – no strangers to being on the wrong end of cup upsets – and had a couple of things dropped differently, Accrington may well have been added to a list of recent giantkillers who include Sutton United, Histon and Crawley Town.
What Adekoya’s consolation did was give this more of a realistic look, because a three-goal defeat may have been slightly misrepresentative - even if Leeds could have finished with far more once the game stretched.
Jesse Marsch may have wanted more killer instinct from his attacking players, with £36million Georginio Rutter impressing on debut, yet the most important thing was getting out of here unscathed and focusing back on survival in the Premier League.
Afforded the finest hospitality that this corner of east Lancashire has to offer in midweek – a seat alongside owner Andy Holt no less - Marsch had taken in Accrington’s extra-time replay victory over Boreham Wood alongside wife Kim. Quite what she did to deserve that nobody knows.
That goodwill vanished once Liam Coyle hammered into Junior Firpo. A tad late, it must be said, but Marsch’s protestations – flying down the touchline, arms enthusiastically waved – did not sit too well with John Coleman’s assistant, Jimmy Bell.
Marsch was dealt the sort of volleys that his goalkeeper, Meslier, had earlier been plucking out of the sky from Sean McConville’s testing efforts. A fierce defender of his corner, Bell jabbed his finger and sent some advice the way of the American, presumably along the lines of you’re in League One now with an EFL referee so please, sir, would you mind trotting back to your own technical area. Or something like that.
Leeds had become accustomed to their surroundings after an early flurry by Accrington that unsettled their illustrious visitors. The Wham Stadium pitch, which has been a nightmare to keep following heavy snow and frost, was a credit to Ben Kay, the head groundsman who shot to fame during Chorley’s romantically reaching the fourth round two years ago.
Coleman, who admitted in the week to a rare bout of nervousness before the biggest one-off fixture of his career here, wants Stanley to play and Marsch is the same, so it made for a super tie. One that flowed, a catalogue of saves and near misses. Leeds started to progress through midfield with more urgency and that is what prompted their opener midway through the first half.
A quick move found Patrick Bamford just outside the box and he laid into the path of Jack Harrison, who thought nothing of cutting across the ball and fizzing into Toby Savin’s bottom left-hand corner. He nonchalantly wandered back to halfway at around the same time as news broke that Leicester City had bid £20million for him.
Those sort of moments can derail lower league teams on days like this yet Accrington kept on coming. Meslier – who fumbled high crosses all afternoon – was alert to stop Aaron Pressley following a sharp break from a Leeds corner, while Shaun Whalley and Harvey Rodgers went close. Rodgers, a Leeds fan, will feel he should have scored from one of his two big chances just after the break.
Savin certainly played his part in keeping them within one goal – a couple smart tips from Rutter and Bamford – but the tie was done six minutes after the hour.
Firpo got it and really should not have been allowed to motor towards Savin in the way he did. Working possession inside from left back, he eventually collected a genius Bamford scoop to just guide past the Accrington goalkeeper.
The air had vacated the balloon and a third soon followed. Two minutes later, Luis Sinisterra was stabbing home Harrison’s centre with Accrington both stretched and deflated.
And then Adekoya had his chance, seconds after being introduced. Meslier palmed away Tommy Leigh’s shot but Accrington recycled it and the youngster clipped in with nine minutes left.