28/04/2008 - Hartlepool 0 Forest 1
With their faces drawn into tight grimaces of anguish, the Nottingham Forest fans could barely control their emotions.
With tears streaming down their faces, the two teenagers hugged each other for comfort.
A year has passed since that fateful defeat at the hands of Yeovil left thousands of hearts broken in the City Ground stands. But, for Colin Calderwood and his players, the memory lingers on.
On Friday night, as they relaxed together in their hotel in the north east, a series of images of Forest fans following that shock play-off defeat were broadcast, unexpectedly, on television.
"It was just on a programme previewing all the matches. There is always that kind of thing when it comes to Forest," said Calderwood. "We saw some pictures from the play-off game and the reaction of the crowd following it, with two young boys crying their eyes out."
And, while it proved to be just the motivation they needed to claim another vital win, this time at Hartlepool, it will be an even greater stimulus in five days.
"We are going to try to change that this weekend," added Calderwood. "We are going to try to put smiles on their faces this time round."
It is strange how football delivers such twists of fate, with Yeovil again standing, potentially, between Forest and a place in the Championship.
Of course, Forest's destiny will also still depend heavily on events at Whaddon Road, where Cheltenham will be hoping to record a victory over second-placed Doncaster that would give them hope of escaping relegation.
But it is remarkable that Calderwood's side have got themselves into this position at all, less than a month since a one-sided, lacklustre defeat at Doncaster seemed to spell the end of their automatic promotion hopes.
While March may have been miserable, however, April has been nothing short of fantastic for the Reds, with five wins and a draw helping them to take full advantage of the stuttering form of both Carlisle and Doncaster.
Now, with just one point between them and Rovers, Forest will be hoping that May is even better and, as Calderwood put it, shorter.
If results go their way this weekend, instead of facing a fight for promotion through the play-offs, a single match may be enough for them to earn a return to life among the big-boys in the Championship.
For 80 minutes on Saturday, it seemed far from certain that the day would end that way.
When the window of opportunity cracked open for Nottingham Forest nine days ago, following their victory over Luton Town, it appears a few nerves crept through the gap as well.
A few weeks ago, this was a match that had been written off as being little more than a warm-up for the play-offs. By kick-off, the prize on offer was more significant, with Forest hoping to claw back the gap between them and those sides above them.
And, for long periods, the sudden increase in the stakes was starkly evident.
In terms of a contest, this was an evenly-fought affair. But, while their hosts Hartlepool, who had only pride left to play for this season, performed in the manner of a side without pressure, Forest struggled to sustain their momentum.
It was enough to provoke an angry reaction in the Forest dug out in the first half, where Calderwood twice seemed to get involved in heated exchanges with his own players as they struggled to enforce any dominance. What was still a surprise was that the interval arrived without a goal, as both sides found rare moments of creativity required to open up the opposition defence.
The wily figure of Danny Wilson had come up with a plan to thwart Forest's 4-3-3 formation, utilising defender Ben Clark just in front of the back four.
And, with the visitors lacking energy for long periods, it ensured that the Hartlepool goal was only rarely threatened.
James Perch lashed an opportunistic volley narrowly wide of the post from seven yards after a Chris Cohen corner had dropped kindly for him.
And Nathan Tyson was denied a fine solo goal after dancing around Clark and then outpacing Sam Collins in a race into the box, where Arran Lee-Barrett saved his low shot with his trailing leg.
Hartlepool were unlucky themselves on the few occasions when their patient, progressive approach managed to find a gap in the Forest rearguard.
With Joel Porter, their in-form striker, limping off with an early injury, it was midfielder James Brown who took centre stage, firstly with a rasping shot along the turf that Paul Smith dealt with efficiently, and then with a swift turn and volley that flew high and wide of the near post.
Clark, the sweeper, proved that he could be an attacking threat as well with a spectacular, swerving volley that shifted in the air, just wide of the upright, from 25 yards. But Calderwood was proactive at the break, introducing Kris Commons in place of Brett Ormerod - who had a knee injury which could yet rule him out this weekend.
And then the match took on a different story as Forest began to spurn chance after chance. Whether news had filtered through that Carlisle were trailing at Milwall and had been reduced to ten men is not clear, but Forest seemed determined to miss the opportunity.
Commons had an immediate impact, swerving his way through two challenges before unleashing a low shot that tested Lee-Barrett's reactions.
A quick break from Kelvin Wilson instigated another opportunity as the defender carried the ball imperiously out his own penalty area and into the opposition half. McCleary then delivered a cross to the far post, and Wilson had advanced far enough forwards to head the ball back across goal to Tyson, who headed wide from a great position.
Tyson then headed over the bar when another jinking advance from Commons gave him the chance to deliver a pin-point cross into the centre.
While Commons side-footed glaringly wide of an almost empty goal, after being picked out by Tyson from the left.
At that point, it seemed Doncaster, who were making light work of Luton, would end the day with the upper hand in the promotion race.
But, when McCleary fed a simple pass into the path of Lewis McGugan from wide on the right, the course of the game and the fight for second place in League One, changed in moments.
The substitute took a single touch to switch the ball onto his left foot, took a quick glance goalwards, and unleashed an unstoppable, unnervingly accurate shot inside the far post from the edge of the box.
It was enough to spark wild celebrations among the 1,000 or so travelling fans. And, more significantly, it ensured that next weekend, this time there could be further scenes of joy, rather than despair, when Forest face Yeovil at the City Ground.