When you see a goalkeeper in tears at the end of a football match, the odds are that he has had a horror and let in a hatful of goals. But this was not the case at Stamford Bridge last weekend where West Ham's third choice keeper David Martin kept a clean sheet and played an important role in his team's shock victory over Chelsea.
They were tears of joy of course, mixed with some relief from a player more familiar with life in the lower leagues, making his top flight debut at the ripe age of 33.
It was hardly surprising that at the final whistle the entire West Ham team ran to congratulate Martin. Having suffered the fragility of Spanish keeper Roberto in previous weeks, the Hammers squad were thankful to finally see some stability between the sticks.
The hapless Roberto had taken over from the excellent first-choice keeper Lukasz Fabianski who is still recovering from surgery after a hip injury incurred in September.
Making Saturday's debut even more emotional for Martin was that in the stands was his father Alvin who is a legend at West Ham, having made 598 appearances as a central defender for the Hammers in a career which spanned two decades.
It was no wonder that after the tears on the pitch, the son ran up into the stands to hug his dad. "You dream about moments like this," said the goalie who has been a West Ham fan since his schooldays.
After learning of his selection, Martin admitted he hadn't been able to eat properly for two days preceding the match because he was so nervous. He needn't have worried because Chelsea had an off day and he was only called upon to make six saves. But he looked comfortable which was so important for the players in front of him.
Martin's story is a lesson in not giving up and a reminder of all those journeymen footballers who play each week in the lower leagues but get little recognition and rarely make the headlines.
West Ham are Martin's 10th club, which tells a story in itself. His career began promisingly with 11 appearances for England U19 while he was at Wimbledon at the time the club was relocated to Milton Keynes as MK Dons.
In 2006 he was signed up by Liverpool but never played for the first team. While at Anfield during the next four years he was loaned out to a number of clubs including Accrington Stanley, Leicester and Tranmere.
In 2010 he returned to MK Dons and was to stay there for eight seasons, making 339 appearances. In 2015-16 he was named the club's player of the year. He then moved on to Millwall before being signed up by the Hammers at the start of the current season.
On Wednesday, Martin got a reminder of just how tough his job is when West Ham lost 2-0 to a very good Wolves side at Molineux. However, he performed well and Hammers fans will remain happier having Martin between the posts than Roberto.
West Ham supporters were critical of manager Manuel Pellegrini's decision to stick with Roberto week after week even though he had been responsible for an alarming number of goals West Ham conceded. It got to the embarrassing stage when Roberto received loud ironic cheers when successfully making the simplest of catches.
Eventually Pellegrini conceded that "unfortunately for Roberto, he is not doing well" and gave Martin his opportunity. Roberto's future does not look too promising and it is hard to imagine any English clubs that would be keen to take him on. He spent most of his career in La Liga and more than likely that is where he will return.
If there is one position any manager doesn't want to have a problem with, it's the goalkeeper. It doesn't matter so much if an outfield player has a poor match as it is unlikely to affect the match result. But if a keeper has a dodgy game you can be severely punished.
There is no doubt that goalkeepers are a breed apart. Fans find it a lot easier recalling a goalie's errors rather than great saves. At the same time, strikers are usually remembered for their spectacular goals rather than their awful misses.
As former Liverpool star Ian Rush said: "It's best being a striker. If you miss five then score the winner, you're a hero. The goalkeeper can play a blinder, then let one in... and he's a villain."
It is no coincidence that former Arsenal goalie Bob Wilson's autobiography was entitled You've Got To Be Crazy.
Another former Gunners keeper, David Seaman, was England's most consistent custodian for more than a decade. Yet some remember him more for his screw-ups, which were admittedly quite spectacular. He was particularly castigated for a Ronaldhino mis-hit that floated over his head into the net, a Macedonia corner kick which floated over his head with the same result and for the 1995 European Cup Winners Cup when a lob from 50 yards... floated over his head. At least there was consistency in his errors.
It got so bad that when Seaman was spotted on the street in London, pedestrians would suddenly totter backwards in exaggerated fashion and pretend to watch a ball dropping over their heads.
Goalkeepers never know what will happen next. Many years ago Colchester custodian Graham South performed his usual pre-match ritual of kicking both goalposts. After kicking the first post he jogged along the goal-line and kicked the other. That's when the crossbar fell on his head.