There was a special moment for Brajan Gruda after the best moment of his statement performance at the Amex.
The Germany under-21 international’s livewire display against Liverpool brought him a standing ovation as he was taken off in the second half of the 3-2 win.
Which was special in itself. But one which might have caught the eye came after his assist.
He guided a deft first-time pass into the path of Yasin Ayari, who caught out Alisson with his early finish.
The home players mobbed each other in the South West corner of the pitch.
Then, as they started to run back, Ayari and Gruda posed for the fans together for a second or two.
It sounded like the goal was a moment crafted on the training ground during those long months when Gruda has struggled to make a first-team impact.
Speaking after the game, Ayari said: “That’s my guy!
“I know how hard he works every day to try to come into the team and start and play as good as possible and I know he has unbelievable qualities.
“Today he showed a little bit of them and I know he can show even more so I’m happy for him.”
Ayari has had more game time than most would have expected back in pre-season and is now adding goals to other details of his game.
His name was bellowed out by home fans after he scored and, later, when he went off.
Gruda has not had so much chance and, when he got it, looked out of place wide on the right.
So it has been a challenging first season away from home.
Ayari said: “Of course. He always wants to play, especially when he has the qualities that he has.
“So I can imagine he’s frustrated because he hasn’t played as much as he wanted maybe but actually when he got some chances he shows what a good player he is and hopefully he can get some more.
“We have a good squad so everyone is happy so when somebody is in a difficult spot we always try to help them.
“Then in the end you need to dig deep and train as hard as possible to show the manager that you want to play.”
Hurzeler spoke glowingly about Gruda when he first signed him.
Back in August, the head coach told The Argus: “I think the biggest challenge for him will be the intensity and sometimes also the ruthless duels.
“I think this will be the challenge he has to win but in the end he has amazing skills, he can make the difference in a game so I am really looking forward to it.”
Now, late in a Monday night with the champions vanquished, I could ask the head coach again about the German midfielder.
What has been said behind the scenes to keep him motivated and on track.
The head coach said: “Work hard, keep working hard, stay grounded, stay humble.
“And, if you are on the pitch, play fearless.
“I think it is very important that the players don’t feel any fear.
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“Especially for this young group, for the young players it is so important they can bring full potential on the pitch without any self-doubt, without any fear.
“That is something we really try to work on to give the players this help.”
Fearless. It sounds simple enough but maybe not so straightforward in front of 30,000 people as a young man in a foreign land.
Gruda comes from a footballing background - his father played in the UEFA Cup for Albanian team Vllaznia - but it can maybe be hard to show that confidence if something does not go right and you hear the groans.
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Hurzeler said: “I think it is very difficult because we always see the player as a machine who has to perform, who has to work.
“But there is a person behind the player.
“There is someone who has doubts.
“There is someone who has adversity during his phase here.
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“I think it is so important that we never under-estimate the mental side from football.
“He did it today in an impressive way.
“We always try to give the young players this environment where they can really show their full potential.
“It is not only Brajan. It is also a lot of other young players who performed in a good way and they showed character.
“They showed personality and it is something we really like.”
