As the ball dropped and she simultaneously soared, Hughes was the coolest person in Sutton – watching it all the way onto her forehead, then glancing it brilliantly back across goal and into the net.
It was the least she – and Crystal Palace – deserved from their opening game of the season, a 1-1 draw with Reading.
“Now I’m thinking back, it felt like it was in the air for ages!” Hughes laughed.
“I know the quality that we’ve got in this team and as soon as it went to Fliss’ left foot, I thought ‘get yourself in and around the goal and hope for the best’. It was a great ball and I was delighted to get on the end of it.
“I feel like it was the least we deserved. We wanted to come away with a win so, because we didn’t do that, we need to build on it next week.”