Tiverton Town's hopes of a surge into the latter stages of the FA Trophy may have been stopped in its tracks by a workmanlike Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday, but their run to the third round qualifying certainly seems to have galvanised fans and players alike.
On the pitch, Tivvy's performance in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat may have been somewhat disjointed compared to their superb draw at the Woodpsring Stadium a few days earlier.
But it certainly was not lacking in effort, commitment and desire, and at no stage did they appear overawed by their Conference South opponents.
They lost due to a combination of two of soft goals conceded in a crazy five-minute spell, a lack of composure in the final third, and a Weston side who delivered a lesson in how to see out a game from a winning position.
Nevertheless, as both John Clarkson and Michael Nardiello confirmed after the match, the team had done themselves proud over the two games against a side considerably higher than them in the food chain.
Off the pitch, Tivvy were roared on by the majority of an official attendance of 245 on Tuesday.
That figure – not insignificant for a midweek kick-off - combined with nearly two full coachloads of Yellows fans who travelled to North Somerset on Saturday, shows just what impact this run has had on the fans.
Not only have they travelled to see Tivvy in their hundreds for these two matches, but the comments I have seen regarding the team have been overwhelmingly positive.
All in all then, this season's FA Trophy run should undoubtedly be seen as a real success.
However, I remarked to a colleague in the run-up to Tuesday's game that I feared for Tiverton simply because of the energy – both mental and physical – that they had invested in Saturday's match, only to be denied by an equaliser in the final 10 minutes.
Often you see a team or individual peaking with one fine performance, only to experience some form of come-down in their next fixture.
It may be a different sport, but you only need to look at Lukas Rosol's limp three-set exit to Philipp Kohlschreiber at Wimbledon in 2012, despite him pulling off one of the greatest shocks ever seen by beating Rafael Nadal in the previous round.
A draw at Weston-super-Mare in the FA Trophy is not, I admit, the same as beating Nadal at Wimbledon, but that come-down was what I feared for Tivvy on Tuesday.
It is also exactly what they must avoid for the remainder of the season.
Tiverton have a great chance of promotion, either automatically or via the play-offs, and it would be a real shame to see those chances disappear due to an adverse reaction to their FA Trophy exit.
It is something striker Nardiello alluded to after the match, insisting the team has to 'crack on' with the league as they have huge potential for success.
The recovery process begins away to Bishops Cleeve on Saturday, and three points would certainly be the ideal tonic to cure any post-trophy exit hangover.
