The first banner had been unfurled, the first tentative cries had rung unconvincingly around the ground. Aston Villa's support, having celebrated victory only once now in 11 games, was not happy, John Gregory their target. As the dying seconds of injury-time ticked away, the Holte End drew breath and prepared to vent their fury.
To their surprise as much as anyone else's, they produced a scream of uncontrolled delight. With approximately four seconds of the four minutes' injury-time remaining Steve Stone's hopeful, harmless cross was met at the far post by the arm of Darren Anderton. Penalty. Salvation. Seconds later, Juan Pablo Angel having converted the spot-kick, Gregory walked off to a smattering of polite applause.
The Villa boss was full of praise for the way Angel kept his nerve in tucking away his 11th goal of the season from the spot.
He said: "There was a lot of pressure on him but he's more than capable and he wanted to take it. The moment it was given he went chasing after the ball."
Gregory talked of "a cloud hanging over Villa Park", while the players spoke of their relief. "When we are in a bad moment or we do not get the points, people put a lot of pressure on us and on the manager," said Olof Mellberg. "But the goal lifted the atmosphere. It was important for the crowd and for us."
Both managers claimed they deserved a win. Both agreed that the referee, the otherwise excellent Eddie Wolstenholme, had been unusually generous in giving so much injury-time at the end of a second half that had seen no goals and no injuries.
The denouement was particularly harsh on Kasey Keller, the American goalkeeper who had excelled on his Premiership debut for Spurs. "I thought it was going to be a good one until the last 30 seconds," Keller said. "But I was busy - sometimes it's nicer when you break into a team that you're not just standing there all day."
Tottenham had played the better football before the interval, deservedly taking the lead when Teddy Sheringham's stunning dummy allowed Les Ferdinand to run on to Christian Ziege's pass and score his 150th league goal. But the match changed in the second period, the home side dominating possession without creating many chances.
Dean Richards, in particular, was excellent for Spurs, while Darren Anderton did not put a foot wrong (though the same cannot be said of his hands).
For Gregory, however, the clouds remain, and the next team to test the Villa Park fans' patience will be Manchester United.
ASTON VILLA: Schmeichel; Samuel, Mellberg, Staunton, Wright (Stone 72), Merson, Hendrie, Boateng (Taylor 89), Kachloul, Vassell, Angel. Subs Not Used: Dublin, Enckelman, Barry. Goals: Angel 90 pen.
TOTTENHAM: Keller; Perry, King, Richards, Ziege (Gardner 84), Taricco, Anderton, Freund, Poyet, Ferdinand (Rebrov 82), Sheringham. Subs Not Used: Sullivan, Sherwood, Davies.Booked: Richards, Ziege, Ferdinand. Goals: Ferdinand 38.
Referee: E Wolstenholme (Blackburn).
