At full-time at The Valley it finally felt as though Stoke City's promotion dream had begun to slip away irretrievably.
You could see it in the body language of the players, heads bowed and shoulders slumped.
You could hear it in the frustration in the voices of Steven Nzonzi and his manager Mark Robins.
You could feel it emanating from an away end full of fans who have grown to associate the capital with gut-wrenching disappointment.
Nzonzi is 37 and a veteran of more than 650 senior games but the hurt was visible in his eyes as he tried to put the disappointment the squad were feeling into words in his post-match interview.
Robins rightly made the point that injuries have wrecked the momentum his squad had built over the opening third of the season, admitting that at some point missing eight, nine or 10 senior players, as the Potters have for much of the season, was always going to catch up with the them.
But he also made the point that they cannot expect more if they continue to be so poor in the final third, questioning his team's effort to get onto the end of crosses and a lack of willingness to shoot.
In the end, Stoke created enough to take something from the game but did not and that has been the story of their season.
A season that promised so much is petering out and for a fanbase who had dared to dream after a flying start, that's so tough to take.
In many ways the disappointment is so much greater because the highs of this campaign have been so good but now, the bigger picture has been replaced by something smaller.
Can the team win on Sunday against Fulham to keep their interest in the FA Cup alive and can they play with a bravery and freedom in the league that comes with having little left to lose?
String a few results together and who knows, Stoke fans might start to dream again but for now, it is about rediscovering their identity, playing at pace and throwing at least some of the contagious caution that has come with their recent form to the wind.