Deep inside stoppage time of this FA Cup semifinal, Harry Kane saw his free kick squirm beneath the body of Thibaut Courtois, roll towards the line and then hold up long enough for the Chelsea goalkeeper to grasp the ball and deny Tottenham a late goal. If anything summed up this current Spurs team, it was that moment.
The free kick was eye-catching, powerful and destined for the back of the net, but it could not get over the line.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham are looking good and full of promise, but they are becoming worryingly short on delivery. They are developing a habit of not getting over the line.
Chelsea's 4-2 winning margin flattered Antonio Conte's men, but the Premier League leaders highlighted the difference between the two sides right now by taking their chances, and by scoring twice in the space of five minutes late in the game, ruthlessly getting the job done.
"We dominated the game, but they were more clinical than us," Pochettino said. "Now we will try to be calm, watch the game again and try to improve.
"We are in a process of trying to improve, if we cannot win the FA Cup this season, we will try again next season.
"It's true that 4-2 looks like a big result for Chelsea, but I feel proud of my players. They gave all that they have."
Experience and trophy-winning nous won the day over youthful potential, as it often does, but it would be foolish to dismiss Tottenham as a team of chokers on the back of this painful defeat.
Spurs continue to be mocked for "finishing third in a two-horse race" when missing out on the title to Leicester City last season, and their failure to progress beyond the group stages of the Champions League this term has added to the evidence of a team that falls short when the heat is on. But it is too early to suggest that this Tottenham side will go down as one of the great "nearly" teams of their generation, one that promised so much, but ultimately failed to live up to the hype.
There is too much talent within Pochettino's squad for Spurs to be written off, but as Chelsea proved so powerfully in the second half, there comes a time when the best teams go in for the kill and take care of business. That is the quality that Tottenham must develop and it may take the addition of one or two players with a winning pedigree this summer for Pochettino to complete the jigsaw.
Spurs may have their long-term future secure with the likes of Dele Alli and Harry Kane, the scorers of their two stunning goals at Wembley, but they do not possess the depth or knowledge of their opponents. When Tottenham were looking for inspiration in the second half, Pochettino sent on Georges-Kevin N'Koudou from the substitutes' bench. Chelsea? They turned to subs of the standing of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas to make the difference, and they did, by some measure.
Tottenham dominated for long periods of this game, though, enjoying 63 percent of possession over the 90 minutes, and they created the chances to make their dominance pay dividends. But they could not get their noses in front, with Kane and Alli each cancelling out goals by Willian, before Hazard put Chelsea 3-2 ahead on 75 minutes -- five minutes before Nemanja Matic made it 4-2 with an unstoppable left-footed strike from 25 yards.
Spurs had been floored, like a fancied young heavyweight who had given a seasoned old pro too many chances to knock him down. This defeat will hurt like the knockout blow that it is, but how they respond to this latest setback will define Pochettino's reign in charge. They either learn from it, grow and become the winning machine many believe they are on course to be, or they allow it to damage their mentality, increase the pressure and, ultimately, see the team break up with the big names determined to win, but do it elsewhere.
That is the danger for Spurs.
Leeds United threatened to emerge as a new force in English football with their dazzling young team under David O'Leary at the turn of the century, reaching a Champions League semifinal in 2001, but when they failed to win trophies, financial problems set in, and the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Harry Kewell, Alan Smith, Jonathan Woodgate and others left to pursue glory elsewhere. Spurs are in a much healthier shape off the field than Leeds were back then, but big players want to win big trophies, and they will not hang around forever.
As of now, they are merely the team that suffered Tottenham's seventh successive FA Cup semifinal defeat and are continuing the club's recent tradition of promising much, but delivering little. But Pochettino, who has yet to win his first trophy as a manager, is right to point to the team's upwards trajectory and draw a line under the past.
"This is my first semifinal, I cannot change the past," he said. "The past is in the past, this is the present and we are trying to make a better future.
"This is an exciting team. Two years ago, it was difficult for us to reach the level of the big teams, but now it is important to be clever and build the team for the next few years."
Pochettino must ensure that the building process is a successful one, by adding the necessary experience and finding the way to turn Tottenham into winners. They still have time prove they are the real deal, but they cannot endure another season of being so near, yet so far away, from a major trophy.
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