Claudio Braga looked toward the Main Stand. Just above the dugout, Cammy Devlin, Lawrence Shankland, Stephen Kingsley, Stuart Findlay and Calem Nieuwenhof looked back.
It was a collective look of delight after the Portuguese forward had put Heart of Midlothian in front against Aberdeen, a goal created by Landry Kabore and a goal that, in the end, secured the league leaders another three points in their pursuit of the Scottish Premiership title.
In Shankland's absence, Braga has stepped up. To take on the responsibility, to lead the line, to be the main man. The winning goal was his third since the Hearts captain picked up a hamstring strain.
And the latest goal had Shankland's fingertips all over it.
Landry Kabore had hurdled Liam Morrison's wild slide, kept the ball, motored into the box and then showed the composure and wherewithal to pick out his strike partner.
Braga's finish was deft, guiding it into the back of the net.
"Lawrence Shankland tip," Braga laughed.
"I tried to put it soft. It was an amazing job from Kabore, amazing job there, and then I just tried to make a striker movement. Luckily, the ball goes in, so I’m happy."
Shankland, like Devlin, has remained an important presence around the first-team. The striker has missed the last seven games and is set to miss the next three.
Braga has noticed his desire to be involved, but has thrived since having to take on more responsibility.
"Yeah, he likes to talk a lot," he smiled, talking about Shankland. "He has a lot of experience. We listen to him a lot, and he always puts some messages in the group and tries to lift the motivation.
"He’s probably struggling a lot being outside. Definitely, he wants to be on the pitch, but he tries to coach a little bit because he’s so experienced, so he helps us.
"I like to play with responsibility. I feel that gives me more confidence because if you have responsibility, it probably means people trust you.
"Without even thinking, you get more confidence because people trust you more, so that helps me."
Braga's goal was his 15th of the season. And one of his most important, for a couple of reasons. Not only did it secure the win, but it was his first in a Hearts jersey in front of his father.
As he spoke, you could tell that it was an emotional moment, a really important moment on a personal level.
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"My dad’s birthday was on Friday, so he came with my sister, my step-mum and my brother. There were also two Portuguese friends," he said.
"It’s just an amazing feeling to have them here and score in front of my father. It’s so good because he always supported me a lot in football, so that’s amazing to do it for him.
"He’s been before, but I never scored, so this one was special just for him."
It was also a goal that has revised his targets. He had initially aimed to score 15 in his first season in Scotland. Now he wants 20.
"Hopefully. That’s my goal, so hopefully I can get there," he said.
"I just try to help the team as much as I can. If we get three points, to be honest, at this point of the season, I don’t really care who scores. But if I score 20, that would be amazing.
"I had 15, but it started really well, so I thought: 'Okay, let me put it a little bit higher.' Now that’s the target.
"Hopefully, the goals can help the team."
On Saturday, the team were aided by a raucous home support who played their part. Their role didn't go unnoticed.
Braga described it as "amazing", noting, however, that he can't get too excited about his own song, which he often finds himself whistling, because it could lead to a fine.
"Was really, really good. Of course, I understand in some games the tension because it’s getting closer to the end of the Premiership, so I understand the tension, but it was really there," he said.
"It’s also good that we were winning, but the players are giving everything on the pitch. Of course, we have a lot of injuries, but the players that are coming in are stepping in so well.
"It’s good to see that the fans are behind us, even with all the struggles that we’re having when it comes to injuries and everything.
"It’s fun, to be honest. It’s good. I feel like every footballer likes to dream of this, and it’s so good to have such a nice atmosphere.
"It drives us up also because in some games, if we didn’t have that atmosphere, we’d probably struggle even more — struggle to find a goal, struggle to make a tackle. So that pushes us up a lot. It gives us a lot of motivation. It’s not a cliche. It’s actually the truth, so it’s amazing."
Hearts finished the weekend having increased their lead to six points at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Braga's message was one of keeping their feet on the ground. A message he reiterated two or three times in the middle of accepting that there is a feeling that "something special" is unfolding.
"Hopefully, it can keep getting stronger and stronger. We are still trying to keep our feet on the ground, but it’s also difficult not to believe even more," he said.
"Like I said, we need to keep our feet on the ground and think game by game. But you can feel there’s something special around this club and something good is happening. I feel everybody feels it. That’s why the tension is sometimes there.
"But yeah — keep our feet on the ground, win game by game, think game by game. Now we have a week off just to rest a little bit and hopefully next game we can get another three points."
