Goalscorer Gareth McAuley hailed a Northern Ireland performance he felt was befitting of their underdog status as they secured their first win at a finals in 34 years on Thursday night.
McAuley headed home his eighth international goal early in the second half in Lyon before substitute Niall McGinn added a second in a 2-0 victory over Ukraine.
It was Northern Ireland's maiden success at a European Championship finals and their first in a major tournament since the 1982 World Cup, and came in stark contrast to their Euro 2016 opener four days earlier, when a loss to Poland in Nice had left them staring at elimination.
McAuley relished achieving a victory in France that some critics believed was beyond Michael O'Neill's team.
"I'm so proud of the players and coaching staff," the West Brom defender said.
"People maybe didn't give us a chance and said we wouldn't get a point, so it's always nice to turn the screw and prove a few people wrong. To me, that's what Northern Ireland is about.
"It's about being the underdog, scrapping and fighting. The most pleasing thing is that was a Northern Ireland performance out there."
It was produced by a very different XI from the one O'Neill deployed in Nice, though, as the boss made a quintet of changes to his starting line-up.
Changing half of his outfield players was a gamble and the omission of striker Kyle Lafferty was particularly bold.
"(He's got) big balls, doesn't he?" McAuley noted.
"Michael said he wanted to freshen things up and put more legs in the team. There was a slight tweak in formation.
"The lads have been hurting since the first game. We let one get past us against Poland and if we had taken a point...different story. We felt we let an opportunity slip against the Poles but you saw a great reaction.
"That's a mark of a good team. You lick your wounds but you react and respond; y ou come out and put on a Northern Ireland performance."
McAuley, 36, became the second-oldest scorer at a Euros when he nodded in Oliver Norwood's free-kick and he passed Gerry Taggart's haul of seven international goals to become Northern Ireland's most prolific defender too.
He marked the moment with a 'Klinsmann dive' in front of his country's supporters on a night where torrential rain and hail fell in Lyon, and said Peter Crouch's robot dance could be next on his list.
"I could see it coming all the way and I thought to myself, 'Goal...don't miss," he added.
"I got a fantastic connection on it. I remember that bit crystal clear, but the rest is a blur.
"I did get a slide on my stomach. That's something I always wanted to do, so that's off the bucket list. It was incredible and even more special to do it at that end of the ground. The noise the fans created was spectacular, but it was even greater when we scored.
"I might do that robot that Crouchy was doing (next time)!"
Source: PA
