After sitting on the first-team bench to see Harry Kane consign Manchester City to a costly defeat in the Premier League on Saturday evening, James McAtee and Liam Delap dusted themselves off to lead the under-23s to a hugely important victory on Sunday lunchtime.
McAtee, Delap and midfielder Romeo Lavia were all in the senior squad for the Premier League reverse to Spurs on Saturday, but were named in the EDS starting line-up just 17 hours later as Premier League 2 leaders City hosted second-placed West Ham.
With just six games remaining after this top-of-the-table clash, City knew they could put seven points between themselves and the Hammers - who have a game in hand - and move a big step closer to retaining the title they won for the first time last season.
Defeat and West Ham would have the title in their hands, so it was no surprise that Brian Barry-Murphy called upon his more experienced academy players.
And it was McAtee and Delap, with five first-team appearances between them in the last five games, who were key to this impressive win on Sunday as the young Blues did what their senior colleagues couldn't by taking full control of their title race this weekend.
It didn't take long for City to take the lead, despite a bright West Ham start.
Juan Larios, in at left-back for the absent Josh Wilson-Esbrand, sent a tempting through ball for Delap who tempted a foul from Ajibola Alese just five minutes in.
Once Alese had been shown a yellow card, there were no doubts over who would take the penalty, as top scorer McAtee stepped up and chipped a delightful Panenka in off the underside of the crossbar.
The goal was his 17th Premier League 2 goal in as many appearances and the finish was one of supreme confidence from a player with 21 goals now in all competitions for the academy - from just 20 games.
The move that brought about the penalty was replicated soon after, with Larios finding Delap to win a free-kick just outside the area and earning a booking for Jamal Baptiste, the second West Ham centre-back.
It was a critical moment, as Baptiste flew in on Darko Gyabi 10 minutes later to earn a red card and boost City's chances significantly.
Delap was increasingly involved as he saw a tap-in disallowed for offside and forced a good save from the goalkeeper, while McAtee fired a long-range free-kick wide from 30-yards before firing across goal after a scramble in the area. West Ham were causing a few issues on the break, but City were playing with confidence and their man advantage only increased their control on the game.
West Ham emerged from the half-time break with a sense of purpose, but couldn't turn that into clear chances, and City wrapped their sixth win on the bounce on the hour mark through impressive substitute Carlos Borges. The Portuguese winger was in the right place to fire home from close range following good work from full-back CJ Egan-Riley, Delap, and Lavia.
Delap tried everything to get on the scoresheet himself but will be content with completing his first 90 minutes of the season. After three recent first-team cameos, he knows these performances are the ones that will give him the best chance of more senior minutes for the rest of the season.
City are managing their academy prospects well, taking them to first-team games in Europe, backing them with minutes under Pep Guardiola and encouraging them to show what they are learning from those experiences when they drop down to the under-23s.
Another goal for McAtee, plus influential performances from Delap, Lavia and Luke Mbete, shows that the policy of integrating the first and youth teams is a productive one.
At the very least, the audacity shown by McAtee's Panenka is evidence that confidence is running through these young Blues.
Now they've put seven points between themselves and West Ham, there's every chance that confidence might be backed up with another trophy at the end of the season.
