Norwich City's October thumping drove them on to prove their point against promoted Brighton – and Alex Pritchard didn't mind how it came about.
In a season of bizarre chapters, the latest saw the Canaries' 2-0 victory over former manager Chris Hughton come without a single shot on target.
Instead, two own goals as Pritchard's sharp shooting twice found the back of Albion keeper David Stockdale via the woodwork – the seventh and eighth goals of the forward's City career, that will have to wait for another day.
'I don't think that will ever happen again; it won't!' smiled Pritchard, following Friday night's Championship victory. 'I said to Naisy (Steven Naismith) look, I've hit the ball and we got two own goals. What can I do about it?
'I don't know what to say. It is what it is. What can I do? It's a lottery. It's one of those things and hopefully I'll get one next week.
Pritchard added: 'This was a good occasion. They've came here needing to win to win the league, but we owed them one – beating us 5-0 at their place – so we put in a good performance, 2-0, and we go again next week.
'I said it. A few others said it. They gave us a thumping, we owed them one tonight.
'We have to prove to ourselves that we are still good enough. Obviously we now go into next year and we'll have to go again.
'But as you can see, we've put in a performance and again at Preston, which was probably more difficult than tonight was. So it's all good.
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'With two games left (at Leeds and then at home to Queens Park Rangers) we owe it to the fans and to ourselves, and hopefully we can get another two wins.'
Pritchard could have been preparing for Premier League football much sooner.
His summer about-turn on the M25, opting to ditch the chance to join Brighton and instead move to Carrow Road from Tottenham, was a decision the Albion fans were not about to let the 23-year-old forget last night – nor how both clubs' seasons have panned out since.
'I'll just take it – it was good banter,' laughed Pritchard. 'It is what it is, and fair play to Brighton. They have been amazing this season and they deserve it.
'In the end, it was just a decision. You live with it and you move on. Hopefully we'll get promoted next season.'
• Follow Michael Bailey on Twitter @michaeljbailey and Facebook @mbjourno
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