One flick of Andy Morrell's head and the gods were shining, the Coventry old boy's hopes of a dream return to his former stamping ground were, it seemed, assured. Injury crisis …what injury crisis?
But alas, little over an hour later, the gods had packed up and gone home.
Kaspars Gorkss was heading down the tunnel utterly disconsolate, Coventry boss Iain Dowie actually had a smile on his face, while Simon Grayson was probably wondering where he had left his boots. Because at this rate, he may need them.

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Pool were down to the bare bones before kick-off. With Gorkss now suspended on Saturday having seen red for the first time in English football, the roll-call of players is looking worryingly thin.
In fact, it might be worth fans bringing their boots on Saturday because unless Grayson's luck changes in the transfer market, one or two may just get a game.

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"A brick wall," was Grayson's assessment on Saturday when asked what response he was getting from other clubs when he tried to bring in emergency loans.
"We'll keep wiping the custard pies off our faces and we'll go again," said the gaffer, with a wry smile on his face, when asked the same question last night.
Upbeat as ever, even Larry knows the situation is getting beyond a joke now.
It didn't seem to matter last night for 43 glorious minutes when the great Seasiders Championship Bandwagon seemed to be ready to upset the odds yet again and seize another sizeable scalp in the form of Dowie's Coventry.
But as the Sky Blues deservedly ran away in the second half to inflict Pool's first defeat in 20 league games, the empty tanks of Grayson's gallant side were sadly obvious to all.
The boss, just like he has day and night since last week, will be back on the phone today desperate to bring one or two new faces to freshen up his shattered squad.
Let's hope he can because at this level, the frailties will be punished.
Pool have more than been a match for the so-called big boys of this division so far. But Coventry had that extra pace, energy and a matchwinning substitute that Blackpool have simply run out of.
Power
The perfect script seemed to have been penned on 32 minutes when Morrell nodded home from David Fox's free-kick.
But then the ink began to fade, man of the moment Michael Mifsud produced a rewrite, and referee Mick Thorpe – who dished out more cards than a Las Vegas croupier – finally scrawled all over it in a big red pen.
Coventry simply had too much power and fully merited their win.
But before the doom-mongers start tapping away predicting relegation is nigh and the bubble has burst, it's worth pondering a few facts.
This was the first time Blackpool had lost by a two-goal deficit for eight months – a 3-1 home defeat to Brentford back in February – a quite staggering record.
Coventry had two ex-Premiership strikers on the bench, one who changed the game, while in Michael Mifsud, they possess a man who probably thinks he can walk on water right now after giving Fergie a redder nose than usual with his two goals at Old Trafford last week.
So let's not panic. A win on Saturday against highly beatable Plymouth will send Pool into the international break comfortably in mid-table and give Phil Horner some valuable time to patch up the troops again.
Patched-up they may already have been, but Grayson stuck with the same formula that worked so well at Watford four days earlier.
Only Scott Vernon of the walking wounded was fit to figure, disposing Rhys Evans from the bench to give Pool some more attacking options.
It meant Andy Morrell was ploughing a lone furrow up front on his own, with a bank of five in midfield to push forward when possible.
And just like at Watford it worked, Pool arguably playing better in the first 45 last night than they did at Vicarage Road.
If the magnificent travelling army from the seaside needed any idea of Coventry's tactics, they only had 30 seconds to wait.
Stephen Hughes clattered dangerman Wes Hoolahan and left him eating grass. Had another 15 minutes been on the clock, Hughes would have surely been in the book.
Hoolahan will have to get used to it because already the Championship clubs are waking up to his talents, and answering them with rough-house tactics.
Paul Rachubka saved comfortably from Robbie Simpson and Hughes within the first five minutes as Coventry made all the early running, who were almost given a leg up by Shaun Barker who very nearly headed past his own keeper from an early corner.
Niggly
Gorkss' eventful game could have included a goal had he got a more telling touch on a delicious Gary Taylor-Fletcher cross on 11 minutes.
It wasn't the prettiest game to watch, passes going astray, niggly fouls and a ref who seemingly thought the fans had come to watch him.
But on 32 minutes, Pool weren't complaining when he blew for a foul 35 yards from goal.
David Fox swung in the cross from the left and Morrell got in front of his marker to flick a deft header into the far corner.
What happened next was quite remarkable. The home fans, who had been singing Morrell's name prior to the goal, rose to applaud their former player. You can't imagine Wayne Rooney getting that reception if he scored back at Goodison Park, can you?
Later, when Morrell was subbed and acclaimed by 15,000 fans on their feet, one local said: "Even Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams didn't get that reception when they played here!"
In these days of spoilt brats with too much money and idiot fans sending death threats to players because they have the audacity to move clubs and better themselves, it was quite a sight to behold.
Coventry, meanwhile, were rocked. Iain Dowie waved his arms, ranted and raved and shouted at the ref.
Pool were heading towards half-time in the lead until they gift-wrapped Dowie's side an equaliser.
The lively Mifsud, known in these parts as the 'mosquito', flew past Danny Coid on the byline, tempting a clumsy foul.
Skipper Michael Doyle did the rest, sending Rachubka the wrong way from the resultant spot-kick.
Blackpool improved after the interval, Southern looping a header over the bar and Morrell narrowly failing to play in Hoolahan from a promising breakaway.
The passing was crisper and with Michael Flynn and David Fox excellent in midfield, Pool looked solid. But it was only fleeting and as the clock ticked by, the limbs became heavy.
Then on came Adebola, and, Grayson and Morrell both acknowledged, he simply changed the game.
Within 12 minutes of his arrival, he had made his mark.
Mifsud latched on to Adebola's clever reverse pass to speed in on goal and slip his shot calmly under the onrushing Rachubka.
Wriggled
The tank was running low and this time, Grayson's men couldn't reply. On came Vernon and Welsh but the visitors were restricted to long range efforts, David Fox zipping one daisycutter wide.
With nine minutes left, Adebola sealed Pool's fate.
He wriggled away from Gorkss but appeared to be tripped and he went down barely a blade of grass from the penalty box. Gorkss was off and the game was up. No way back this time.
Simpson rubbed salt into the wounds with a header on 86 which the assistant referee adjudged to have crossed the line.
So the unbeaten run is over. But as Grayson said, it's time to start a new one, beginning on Saturday.