Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency Image caption, Craig Bellamy has won nine of his 23 games in charge of Wales since replacing Rob Page in July 2024 ByChris WathanBBC Sport Wales Published 23 minutes ago A game won, a line drawn.
And perhaps the end of Craig Bellamy's summer of discontent.
The significance of the victory over Norway was not lost on the Wales head coach.
After all, goals from Neco Williams and Dan James – as well as shutting out Erling Haaland – delivered not only Wales' first win in seven games, but their first ever in Nations League A.
Indeed, this was only the second time Wales have beaten a side ranked higher than them in a competitive fixture since reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
But it also meant more.
And even if it wasn't obvious at the final whistle as he calmly shook hands with Stale Solbakken and his staff, Bellamy knew it too.
From March's disappointment over missing out on the World Cup, to June's dalliance with Burnley, it has been a testing time for a head coach still trying to make his mark with his country.
Those summer clouds that had darkened the atmosphere among fans had lingered into the start of this Nations League campaign.
Stormier still after the manner of defeat in Denmark.
But, on a clear night in Cardiff, the evening's skies ended up filled only with the sound of the national anthem serenading a re-energised national side's efforts.
A song to signal a turning point?
Perhaps, but it was certainly in contrast to the mood music just a few hours before kick-off.
Highlights: Wales 2-1 Norway Published 12 hours ago Wales beat 10-man Norway to end winless run Bellamy speaks out over criticism after Norway win Published 11 hours ago Just as they had done on the night World Cup dreams were ended on penalties by Bosnia-Herzegovina, prior to Thursday's game fans gathered at the Canopi venue in the shadow of the Principality Stadium where – all being well – Wales will kick-off a home European Championships in less than two years time.
That prospect was not the topic of conversation of the Red Wall members present, though, with many instead deep in discussion of where and why things seemed to have gone wrong under Bellamy.
From going unbeaten in his opening nine games with a refreshing brand of football, the consensus was things had gone flat and that the head coach was bearing the brunt of it.
"I think people were down on him after Bosnia, the way the game panned out and seeing mistakes we made on the night we'd made earlier in the campaign," said Ryan March, fan and editor of Alternative Wales, the fanzine that had organised the pre-match meet.
"He didn't really come out and say he'd made an error, and then when the Burnley thing happened, perhaps people thought it might be good for a change and we could move on.
"When it didn't, I expected a reaction – and we haven't had it." Although never a yardstick to always take seriously, the reaction on social media has been more extreme.
In real life, the opinion was less that Bellamy had to go, but he had to be better.
The promise and possibilities offered from Bellamy's exciting opening to life as head coach were seen as having petered out.
"Are we a better side than we were at the end of his first year in charge?
I don't think we are," added March.
"We have less of a style, less of an identity, and we've not been better than the sum of our parts, which the best Welsh sides always tend to be." It was something Bellamy had addressed and admitted in his press conference prior to the game, accepting he deserved scrutiny.
"We need to improve; I need to improve," he had said.
It was a revealing piece of humility, especially given some supporters suggested a sense of being tired of Wales – and their head coach – "talking a good game".
Remembering darker times Image source, FAW Image caption, The win over Norway was Wales' first win over a top-20 nation since beating Croatia in Cardiff in October 2023 under Rob Page A mile down the road in the Canton suburb of the Welsh capital, feelings were not dissimilar - although some long-standing fans reminded others of a history of impatience among Wales fans with their manager, scolding some supporters' reaction in Copenhagen.
And there were plenty of caveats being offered.
A four-game window without first-choice goalkeeper Karl Darlow, a first-choice centre-back in Joe Rodon and a go-to attacking threat in Harry Wilson was accepted as a tough hand to have been dealt, likewise the calibre of opposition.
Instead of Premier League regulars, League One options have to be turned to at times.
Then there were the arguably unfair expectation levels following recent success in qualifying for major tournaments, as well as those set publicly by Bellamy himself when he told supporters to no longer accept being "little old Wales." A group of fans, who point out the previous dark days following the national team, mentioned all of the above, but still questioned tactics, game-management and the 'coach-speak' of Bellamy and whether there may be another club offer to tempt him on the horizon.
And then they all chuckled in admission when another suggests the mood will change in an instant with victory over a side ranked 19th in the world and boasting hundred-million pound talents.
Figure caption, Norway win 'massive' for Wales - Williams Identity restored So it eventually proved.
And yet it was the performance perhaps more than the result that appeared to win fans over again and reset the relationship between supporter and head coach.
"If they wanted to turn, that was their chance," Bellamy said on S4C of the crowd response to Oscar Bobb's opener after 11 minutes in what was Wales' first home game since those Burnley links.
"But they didn't, they drove players on." Indeed, there had been only a Red Walled-willingness for Wales - and Bellamy - to be better throughout the 90 minutes, the noise lifting as Haaland remained contained and the hosts continued to move forward.
They liked what they saw.
Action, not words.
Bellamy admitted to having an "identity meeting" with players to try and re-establish what had been the hallmarks of his initial time in charge.
It evidently did the trick given the way the tempo and aggression returned.
On the ball there was plenty to please the eye, not to mention the resilience to close a game out – a key criticism of that World Cup campaign.
One win is only one win, but there were red-shirted signs of redemption, from Liam Cullen's performance - a player Bellamy has been criticised for selecting over others - to Neco Williams' free-kick following a difficult night in Denmark.
But suddenly the Nations League campaign has new life and the chance of remaining in the top tier, and maybe even a seeding boost for those Euro 2028 qualifiers.
"It felt more like what we saw at the start under Craig," said former Wales midfielder Joe Ledley.
"I think people have wanted to see it back but they saw it here.
Fans don't always have patience, decision-makers don't always have patience so I think everyone knew we needed to see a result – but we also saw the performance and things we've not seen for a while.
That's a Craig Bellamy side." So instead of breaking point, was this a turning point?
"I hope so," said Robert Earnshaw, another former Wales teammate of Bellamy and now part of the Match of the Day Wales team with Ledley.
"Craig needed it, the team needed it, I think the whole nation needed it," said Earnshaw.
"Our levels dropped after the disappointment of the World Cup and it was about how could we bounce back - and here we felt that energy and excitement again.
"They had to give the crowd things to be cheerful about, because they were missing that for a while.
Against Denmark we were miles away from what we've seen.
"This was a statement win." And – although the next test fast approaches against Denmark in Cardiff on Sunday - maybe it was also a line drawn.
Wales v Denmark Nations League Group A4 Sunday, 4 October, 19:45 BST Cardiff City Stadium Watch on iPlayerListen on Sounds Live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Two Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and 5 Live, BBC Sport website and app, plus live text commentary.
