Less than two weeks before the women's Football World Cup kicks off, New Zealand's 2-0 victory over Vietnam at Napier's McLean Park couldn't have come at a better time.
Winless at home since 2012 - their last triumph in Aotearoa came against China a whopping 4038 days ago - the display will undoubtedly put some wind in the home side's sails.
Strikes from CJ Bott and Jacqui Hand, along with a clean sheet from the defence, don't tell the whole story of how emphatic the Football Ferns were, after amassing 29 shots against their opposition.
The win also ends a wait dating back to September 2022 for a victory anywhere, with just one goal scored in their last seven matches - one draw and six defeats.
With the pressure of a home World Cup, the warm-up victory will undoubtedly help the NZ women in their final preparations before kicking the tournament off against Norway on July 20.
Despite coach Jitka Klimkova's tactics not always equating to free-flowing, attacking football, that many shots against the world No.32 was justification of the Ferns approach heading into the tournament.
"We all knew we could do it," said Hand. "It was just a matter of putting out the performance and getting the goals.
"We showed it, especially in the first half. We really went out and showed that we could have won 5-0, if we'd put all our chances away.
"For myself, personally, I always want to score more. The chances that I miss, I'll always look back and see what I can do to put them away.
"Getting those 29 shots is a big step forward for us."
Perhaps no-one is happier with the Ferns display than Klimkova herself. Their winless run was hardly the ideal lead-in to a tournament that's hoped will ignite women's football in New Zealand.
While beating Vietnam isn't the magic bullet needed to turn their fortunes around - with Norway, Philippines and Switzerland awaiting them in the World Cup group stage - it's certainly better than another loss or draw.
"We needed the win," said Klimkova. "Our fans deserve these kinds of moments.
"The confidence [gained] is No.1. We know Norway is going to be a different opposition in our first game.
"Knowing we can play such good football, it's very positive. Knowing we can score goals is something we wanted to achieve.
"Having this is just hopeful."
