Cheltenham manager Darrell Clarke was relieved to see the robins finally find the back of the net in the 1-1 Sky Bet League One draw with Derby.
Clarke collapsed to the ground in theatrical disbelief in the technical area When the Robins got their first goal at the 12th attempt.
It was only the second game of Clarke’s reign as boss, but his players had endured an EFL record-equalling run of 11 matches without finding the net.
Rob Street ended the long, long wait to finally give the fans something to celebrate in the 39th minute.
Curtis Nelson levelled for the Rams just before half-time, but Clarke was content to pick up a first home point of the campaign.
“It’s a massive monkey off our back getting that goal,” he said.
“It gives everyone a lift, against an experienced Derby team.
“The lads have given me everything, they really have. It was backs against the wall for spells, but we’ve had our spells as well.
“It was a fully committed performance and while I never get too carried away with a point, it’s nice to get that goal and a point against a team who will definitely be in the top six.
“When you are a manager of a club, you want the players to represent you well and I thought my players did that today.”
Former Crystal Palace youngster Street touched in Will Goodwin’s low ball into the box to net his first goal for the club.
Derby responded in the seventh minute of time added at the end of the first half when Tom Barkhuizen’s corner was met by James Collins, who was denied by Luke Southwood’s superb save, but Nelson followed up.
Derby had looked the most likely to score early, with Eiran Cashin’s effort cleared off the line by Goodwin in the eighth minute.
Will Ferry and James Olayinka both shot wide for Cheltenham from outside the box.
Lewis Freestone denied Martyn Waghorn with a block in the 55th minute and Max Bird was close to winning it for the Rams.
Southwood saved brilliantly from Collins in the 80th minute to ensure Cheltenham picked up their first home point of the campaign.
Rams boss Paul Warne admitted his team were wasteful in front of goal as they missed the chance to climb into the play-off places.
“We let one slip,” he said. “We had plenty of chances and plenty of opportunities in the final third and goalmouth incident, if just didn’t fall for us.
“There are certain things I can criticise, but the effort levels I can’t.
“Sometimes football is a bit cruel and it was today. I don’t think anyone in the stadium would say that we weren’t the better team, or that we didn’t create the most chances.
“If you want to be successful you have to come to these places and win. Away form has been good, but today we didn’t take our chances.”
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
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