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Sarah McFadden's introduction for Northern Ireland off the bench against Iceland in their Nations League promotion/relegation play-off was greeted with more rapturous applause than the other substitutions on Friday night.
That was for a good reason as the 38-year-old returned to play for her country six months on from giving birth to her second child.
She came on to win her 107th cap and her first since February 2024, but didn't need any time to settle back in as she landed a crunching sliding tackle on Sveindis Jonsdottir soon after her introduction.
While NI ultimately lost 2-0 and have an uphill battle to claw that deficit back in the second leg on Tuesday as they seek to reach League A for the first time, McFadden was afforded a moment to reflect on a "really long" journey back for club and country.
McFadden completed pre-season with her WSL 2 club Durham and managed her first full 90 minutes in the league on 25 September.
A defensive injury crisis facilitated a return to the international set-up and almost a month on from her first full game, she managed 32 minutes for her country against an Iceland side who featured at Euro 2025.
In her own words, "it's incredible" and what she has worked diligently for since regaining full fitness.
"I've worked really hard and in the back of my mind it has always been for Northern Ireland," she told BBC Sport NI.
"As soon as I stepped on the line in July [in pre-season] I was miles behind everyone. All I kept thinking was hopefully one day I'll put the green shirt on, and it's been really, really hard but I knew I would get here in the end.
"I'm grateful to Tanya for picking me. She didn't have to but that's testament to her and what she believes in this squad and I'm really grateful up to get to this point."
The NI squad she has returned to is markedly different to the one she was last included in a year and a half ago, given the influx of younger players.
That was necessitated by the retirements of Marissa Callaghan, Rachel Furness and Rachel Dugdale.
The only centurion in the current panel, McFadden knew her biggest selling point for getting back into the squad at this later stage of her career was the experience she has, and she hopes to pass on wisdom gained from over 20 years of playing to the younger generation.
"That is what I was saying when I was pleading my case to Tanya. I've always got that [experience], even if I'm not fit, I will always do the best for Northern Ireland and our group," she added.
"I hope I've helped them this week, especially Abi Sweetlove. She's at the start of her career, she's unbelievable centre-half, she's the future and hopefully I'll be able to help her along because I have done it many a time and someone helped me along, so I want to help them."
So, up next for McFadden and NI is building on a positive second-half display in Ballymena as they go to Reykjavik on Tuesday aiming to overturn the two-goal deficit.
The odds are against Oxtoby's side given they failed to have a shot on target in the first leg, but McFadden still thinks they have an opportunity if they go there confident.
"We need a little bit more belief. We were able to get in their final third a bit more second half and with the belief, we have a chance.
"If we score early, they're the big fish with the pressure on and hopefully we get a performance again."
