It was mid November back in 2004 but an occasion that will stick with Hector Sam for a long time.
There he was, six minutes from time, when he popped up with a left-foot shot to fire Trinidad and Tobago level in their Concacaf group qualifier against St Vincent and Grenadines.
His country went on to snatch a last-minute winner to fire themselves through to the final stage of qualifying after finishing runners-up to Mexico.
It was a delightful memory for Sam, in the Hasely Crawford stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
But when his country finally secured their place at the World Cup in Germany, he was to miss out. The striker suffered a broken leg shortly after joining Port Vale from Wrexham, early in the 2005/06 season and despite making the back-up list, he was not on the plane to the tournament in which they would face England in the group stages.
But such is the 29-year-old's infectious and bubbly personality, he refuses to be full of regret. He was happy for his fellow players, even if he had been involved in the international set-up from 1999 to 2005 only to miss out as the injury ruined his season in the lead-up to the biggest football tournament on the planet.
And despite now being at his second club since the World Cup - he helped Walsall to the League Two title last season - he is determined to prove himself at Meadow Lane and will never give up on being a Soca Warrior once more.
In his Caribbean tone, Sam explained with a smile: "I will always aspire to play for my country. At the last World Cup I missed out, after I broke my leg. Hopefully, this time around I can play against England.
"I scored against St Vincent and hopefully this time I want to be involved, somehow, and I hope we get England again.
"I did not have no fitness (when he returned from breaking his leg) and it was nice to get back and play on Saturdays and I had a glimmer of hope of making it but it was not enough.
"I was at home in England watching every single game so it was disappointing but good in a sense. The lads did well and did the country proud and they were smiling, ear to ear, when we drew England so it was a great opportunity and great exposure.
"My best memories for Trinidad are winning the Copa Caribe in 1999 when I had just started and we got a hefty bonus too, so as a young man you were happy."
And thanks to the exposure from the World Cup, the people of his home nation are getting more and more passionate about their football.
"I would not say they are as passionate as England, but they are passionate," he said.
"The World Cup has put us on the map and hopefully everybody knows about Trinidad now so we can push on from there."
But he said cricket will always be the major player and is a game he loved to play.
And through his big smile and laugh, he said he was a top cricketer himself who could have gone all the way.
Sam said: "Cricket is massive. It is the West Indies. I almost was a cricketer and I think I was better at cricket than I was at football but I had to make the decision and I chose football.
"I was almost on the brink of making the West Indies so I was not bad. I was a wicket keeper/batsman and I played for Queen's Park, one of the best cricket clubs.
"I have no time now, I knock around but that is it."
Dwight Yorke and Carlos Edwards at Sunderland, Dennis Lawrence and Jason Scotland at Swansea, Stern John at Southampton. They are just some of Sam's former international team-mates plying their trade in England.
But Sam's main aim now is to help Notts County up the League Two table.
After moving from the Caribbean in 2000 to join Wrexham in a £125,000 deal, he spent five years in north Wales before stints at Port Vale and Walsall.
He arrived at Meadow Lane in the summer and since manager Ian McParland took over from the sacked Steve Thompson, Sam has been undergoing a tough routine to get fitter and sharper.
Sam has responded well and was recalled to the starting line-up for last week's trip to Lincoln.
Now he hopes to build on his two goals this season for Notts and rediscover his scoring touch.
He said: "I have been waiting for a quite a while and I thought I did reasonably well. I have been working hard in training, lost a bit of weight and was happy to get the chance.
"I had a bit of fat on and the manager said I needed to lose a bit of weight. So I was working hard in training, I am on a strict diet now and hopefully that will continue. I feel much sharper now and it shows in my play so, all in all, it is good.
"In the home game against Wrexham, my old side, I made an immediate impact from the bench and from there I played well and got the goal in the FA Cup and then the chance on Saturday, so it is good. I need to keep going, I need to get the goals and we need to get wins. It is a long, hard season and we have to work hard to get out of this position.
"It was a slight blip losing the last two matches and I thought we should have got something out of them. We need to graft a bit harder because we were on top against Lincoln but let it slip so we need to concentrate and not let sloppy goals in. We need to concentrate more."
Sam acknowledges that with seven games in December, which started against Havant and Waterlooville in the FA Cup today, Notts have a tough month.
But he feels by playing some of the league's top sides it will see them raise their game.
"I saw the league table and fixtures and this is a very difficult month," said Sam.
"We have some top sides and they will not sit back, they will come to attack and will leave some space behind so we can exploit that.
"That might suit us as they will not come to sit back. We can play them on the counter and hopefully we can get the results that are needed."
Sam said he has noticed a big change at Meadow Lane since McParland took over with Dave Kevan as his assistant.
He added: "It has changed around here massively. The discipline, the enthusiasm with the lads, it has changed a lot.
"Everyone is disciplined, everyone is wearing the same gear, no one is leaving early. It is good and the kit is being washed, food provided and hopefully we can transfer that onto the pitch."
Sam wants to do well for Notts and earn a new deal at the end of the season.
And by scoring goals for the Magpies, he hopes to put himself back on the radar when it comes to Trinidad and Tobago.
If he does, he can resurrect his international career and hopefully play a part in taking his country to the World Cup - and then featuring in it.
It is a long way off, but that is his long-term goal.
He said: "It is great here and the season is not going too well but we need to get going, need to get cracking and I have hopes we can get in the play-offs. But this month will shape everything.
"That season at Port Vale cost me when I broke my leg, it cost me my place (in the World Cup) so hopefully this season and the seasons afterwards I can really prove myself and get back."