"That was exactly what that moment required," were the words of Notts County boss Luke Williams on the importance of two players in their latest victory against Chesterfield at the weekend.
The Magpies returned to the National League summit following Wrexham's win over Wealdstone earlier in the day, with Adam Chicksen's second half-strike seeing the title race take another turn in this remarkable campaign.
The Zimbabwean's ninth goal of the season sparked huge celebrations in front of the travelling 1,961 Notts fans at the Technique Stadium, but the experience of both Connell Rawlinson and John Bostock stood out as a pivotal moment in earning another vital three points away from home.
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As Chicksen smashed home Aaron Nemane's low drive into the area, emotions were heightened given the significance and timing of the eventual winner coming just eight minutes after Jeff King saw red for a second bookable offence for a late tackle on Cedwyn Scott in midfield.
But in the aftermath of the celebrations, both the experience of Rawlinson and Bostock took over, encouraging their teammates to regain composure and focus with 19 minutes of normal time remaining.
And the Notts boss was quick to value the importance of that experience, explaining that before signing Bostock last December, his personality and knowledge of managing these types of situations was another aspect of his game assessed along with his evident quality on the ball.
"We spoke about John when he signed here at length and one of the things we highlighted was that added value you get with a player of his experience and the personality that he has," he said.
"That was exactly what that moment required because it had a big adrenaline and we the fans have to see that connection with the team.
"Even for the opposition, they see that joy and it's heart-breaking because we have all been there - but then you need focus and I thought Connell Rawlinson and John both showed their senior qualities and they helped us settle down a little bit after that big rush."
As Notts' season passes the 30-game point this evening, they welcome Barnet to Meadow Lane in their first meeting of the season.
Dean Brennan's side are enjoying an unbeaten run of their own having not tasted defeat in the league since the start of November as they close in on third-placed Woking.
Williams highlighted the unusual difficulty of the fixture having not played against the Bees so late into the National League campaign, and he expects a tough game as his side looks to extend their unbeaten run to 23 games in the league.
"It feels strange to be at this stage of the season and we don't really know what they are like - of course, you can watch them and until you play a team you don't fully understand the difficulties, but it does feel strange.
"But we have to deal with that and we are both in the same situation, but we have plenty of footage to look at and we know that they are a very good team.
"But we are very good as well, and we have to put on another good performance for sure."
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