A debut goal for a striker and a first league win of the season for the under-fire Steve McClaren. The impact of this result could be immeasurable for Queens Park Rangers.
The performance may have been scrappy, they may have rode their luck at times but Tomer Hemed's close-range effort in the 35th minute hauled McClaren's men off the bottom of the Championship and provided him with some welcome relief.
More importantly, after four straight losses in the league there were signs of revival at Loftus Road. McClaren was vindicated in replacing Matt Ingram with Joe Lumley in goal, while Hemed linked up promisingly in attack alongside fellow debutant Nahki Wells. The pair arrived in midweek from Brighton and Burnley respectively.
But early on, there were moments of agitation.
In the 10th minute, Luke Freeman gave Josh Scowen a verbal bashing for clearing the ball into the stands when he was free for a simple pass.
It was not an obvious error, more a decision based on an instinct to remove danger rather than create it. They were bickering as they followed the play into the Wigan half but soon after linked up neatly in a one-two before Scowen found Wells on the edge of Wigan's area. His tame effort was stopped by Christian Walton but it was a decent sign of intent.
Five minutes later, Lumley made a fabulous one-handed save to keep the score goalless.
Nick Powell, who had a snap and a sparkle to his play every time he had the ball at his feet, charged into QPR's half on the counter and swept play across to Will Grigg. There, he teed up the onrushing Josh Windass - son of Dean, making his first start for Wigan - who was racing through the middle.
As he arrived on the edge of the penalty area, he cunningly checked his run and curved a sweet strike high across the QPR goal.
But Lumley was not fooled, leaping across and brushing the ball around the post with an outstretched hand. It was cheered by a restless home crowd like he had saved a last-minute penalty.
From the resulting corner, Powell flashed a header across goal and wide, his effort evading several team-mates.
The goal was not the most aesthetically pleasing. Wigan failed to clear their lines at a corner and as the ball bounced up, Hemed held off Chey Dunkley to hook high into the top corner on the turn. Wigan were adamant Hemed had committed a foul but their protests were ignored.
QPR began the second half brightly. The industrious Freeman, never far away from the more encouraging attacks the hosts made, drilled a fierce effort into the side netting after Wells demonstrated good awareness to pick him out with a cut-back.
Hemed went close again, a shot whistled wide on the turn and a swerving Wells attempt from 20 yards was beaten away by Walton.
There was a final scare in the closing exchanges when Dunkley headed a searching Lee Evans free-kick back across goal and wide of the far post.
But what will please McClaren - who recorded his first Championship win since Derby's 2-1 victory over Barnsley in March 2017 - is that, as the game edged closer to finishing, the Rangers players tirelessly harried and hassled Wigan from the front.
QPR still have a lot of work to do but finally, they have made their first forward step of the season.
