Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill admits that he was happy to settle for a goalless draw away to Azerbaijan before Stuart Dallas struck in the dying embers.
The Green and White Army picked up an impressive 1-0 win in the sweltering Baku conditions to boost their hopes of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, finding themselves clear of the chasing pack for second place in Group C.
O'Neill was quick to praise the impact of Michael McGovern in goal, keeping his first clean sheet of the campaign at the sixth attempt, and also hailed the match-winning ability of Leeds United midfielder Dallas.
"It was fantastic a way to finish the game - we were out on our feet and looking to get away with a 0-0 draw," he told BBC Sport. "Michael McGovern made a couple of saves for us and we felt we would get a chance.
"Jonny Evans does brilliantly, playing the pass for Stuart Dallas. I am delighted for Stuart as he covered a lot of ground tonight and did everything we asked of him."
Northern Ireland, who have lost just one of their six qualifiers thus far on the road to Russia, return to action in September with a trip to minnows San Marino.