The roar. That roar. It made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.
And that was just the one which carried Nottingham Forest down the tunnel at half-time. By the end, the City Ground was at fever pitch; a frenzied cauldron of noise, scarves being whirled and limbs going in all directions.
All through the second half the stadium had been rocking. Every touch, every tackle, every attack and everything in between was greeted with the kind of ear-bleeding explosion which makes you stop and just soak it all in.
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"People who maybe haven't been here for a while or have maybe come for the first time, with us being in the big league now, are just taken aback by the atmosphere. People who come regularly will know that's pretty normal," said Steve Cooper afterwards.
He's partly right. During his 18 months in charge, the atmosphere Trentside has been something else. But nights like Wednesday just have that little bit more - the noise is extra deafening.
Nights like that are special. Nights like that inspire belief that maybe, just maybe, the Reds could pull this off. It's been a long time coming, but with that victory they have given themselves a fighting chance.
Winning feeling
Cooper sank to his knees on the touchline as Forest claimed three precious points against Brighton and Hove Albion. A release of relief.
He signalled a little apology as he declined to mark victory with his trademark fist-pumps, but tapped his heart as a sign of appreciation."I don’t think you can win one game and celebrate too much. Honestly, I was walking off the pitch thinking about getting ready for Brentford,” he explained afterwards. In other words, the job isn't done.
The Reds moved out of the relegation zone with that result, but it is still so tight and they know only too well how quickly the picture can change. Nevertheless, they have wrestled back control of their fate into their own hands. And they have hope.
She can be a cruel mistress, of course. Will it be enough? Who knows. But in the last couple of games there seems to have been a shift in Forest. They have shown they are ready to fight.
They demonstrated that at Liverpool last Saturday with a gutsy display which almost earned a result. And they dug in again against the Seagulls, coming from behind to win for the first time in the league this season? The muscle memory from both of those games needs to stay with them now. The key is to keep it going.
Brazilian flair
Danilo could hardly have picked a better time to find the net for the first time in the Garibaldi. What a goal it was, too.
The January signing hustled to win the ball back then latched on to it again following a lovely assist by Taiwo Awoniyi. He had company from the opposition as he charged forward, but beat Jason Steele with the kind of emphatic, precise finish in a pressure-cooker of a situation which belied his tender years.
Forest know they have an exciting young talent on their hands in the 21-year-old, one with great promise. It's all about how you nurture him, and in Cooper he has a manager with the necessary experience of that.
The Brazilian is still a little raw, but Wednesday was his best game so far and showed exactly what he is capable of. Not just with his goal, but with his all round play and how he combined with Orel Mangala in midfield. Once he really gets going, he can be a force to be reckoned with.
Plan in place
“We were never going to have a competition of possession or passes with them, because that wouldn't have been the right plan,” Cooper said. "I asked the players at half-time to continue, not to get too frustrated - because some parts of the game they wouldn't have enjoyed greatly - but I said they would get their rewards.
"We scored the second goal completely from the plan. The little box they play in midfield, with the centre-backs and the midfield players, is good, but if you do get it, it's a really open pitch. We managed to take advantage of that.
"The players stuck to the plan brilliantly. It's not as if we've been winning every week, so for the players to show that mentality and confidence in the game... We should take a lot of heart from that.”
At times in the first half, after losing a bit of momentum, Cooper’s side lacked composure. Once they got a handle on the game after the break, they were much more controlled.
The Welshman’s tactics have been questioned amid the recent dismal run and his position has come under scrutiny. But he got it right to a ‘T’ against Brighton - just as he almost did on Merseyside.
And what really stood out was the unity on show. Between the players, and with the fans.
There’s no underestimating the part the City Ground crowd is playing this season. The team feeds off it. When Danilo and Morgan Gibbs-White scored, almost to a man, everyone piled in to celebrate. That included the substitutes, with Jesse Lingard dancing on the pitch and Remo Freuler sprinting down the touchline.
Injury woe
It wouldn't be a Forest game without more rotten luck on the injury front. In fact, it was almost a quadruple whammy.
Already struggling for numbers and without key players, the hosts lost Moussa Niakhate and Neco Williams during the game. Renan Lodi and Taiwo Awoniyi also went down, but both were able to carry on - albeit the latter clearly took a heavy blow to his shoulder.
Williams was the most troubling. He was stretchered off and taken to hospital after being left stricken in front of the Trent End following a collision with Brennan Johnson. That one of Brighton's players immediately signalled he needed assistance showed the severity of it.
The summer signing had been in great form, too. He had picked up from where he left at Anfield by putting in another excellent performance. Switching him to a wing-back role has got the best out of him.
If he is out for any period of time, at least Serge Aurier is back to step in. He was preferred over Joe Worrall to make up a three-man back line from the start and led out the team as he wore the armband. If he can get back to the kind of consistency he showed earlier in the campaign, it would be a huge boost. He showed his experience by gathering the troops when they were under the cosh.
Seeing Johnson miss the chance to put the home side 1-0 up from the spot and losing Niakhate in the space of barely 60 seconds was the kind of minute that could sum up Forest's season. It was akin to putting in the boot when someone is on the floor. But they didn't let that beat them. Rather than feel sorry for themselves or self-destruct after falling behind, they rallied.
Worrall came on for Niakhate and was excellent. As a unit, the Reds fought. They showed the kind of resistance and resilience which will be vital in their remaining five games. Now it's all about how they build on that.
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