Northern Ireland's victory away to Slovenia was just like old times - they set their stall out, were hard to beat, made it difficult for the opposition and then took their chance.
It reminded me of the 1980s when we soaked up pressure and were able to score on the break, and it was probably our biggest performance away from home since we won in Romania in 1985.
We had a little bit of luck but there have been numerous times when the luck has not been with us, and you need that little bit of good fortune to qualify.
We lost our first two away games of the World Cup qualifying campaign and if we had won one of those we would have qualified, so it is vital to get that early success away from Windsor Park.
Nigel Worthington will have brought the boys right back down to earth though and reminded them that Slovenia are only the third seeded team in the group - we still have to face Italy and Serbia.
Having said that, I don't think too many teams will go to Slovenia and win and they themselves are now in the position of having to chase results after a poor start.
The manager will remind the players of the home game against Slovakia last September when, for whatever reason, they just did not perform - maybe the occasion got to them.
That will be a reminder of the need for consistency and although he will be reluctant to change a winning team, I think he'll have to bring Jonny Evans back in as he is used to playing for Manchester United and at Champions League level.
Evans could play at left-back. While Craig Cathcart had a tremendous game he did at times appear to be a centre back playing at left back, and struggled on a couple of occasions.
If Lafferty can play sensibly, then he and Warren Feeney must surely be the starting combination up front
Aaron Hughes and Evans may be the best central defensive partnership against Italy because of the way the Italians like to play, but that is a call for Nigel.
David Healy put in a lot of work but the pace of international football is completely different and he needs to be playing regular football.
Kyle Lafferty strikes me as the new Billy Hamilton in the Northern Ireland ranks, although Kyle maybe has a bit more skill on the ground.
Nigel's big worry must be his discipline though as he can be a bit of a loose cannon on the field.
If he can play sensibly, then Lafferty and Warren Feeney must surely be the starting combination up front against Italy.
Nigel's substitutions were excellent, with Corry Evans coming on as Grant McCann and Chris Brunt were labouring.
Evans came on at a time when the team was struggling, but he was able to put his foot on the ball and thread some passes through.
I also think we should have Pat McCourt in the squad, although I know Nigel thinks he doesn't work enough.
If we go a goal down in a game, he could produce something to get you out of a difficult situation.
A lot of Northern Ireland players know this is their last chance to qualify for a major tournament and we have waited a long time to start any qualifying campaign with a victory.
We have to keep our feet on the ground, but let's enjoy the moment.
John O'Neill was talking to Michael McNamee on BBC Radio Ulster's Sportsound programme
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