Jordan Reynolds went through plenty of emotions on Saturday evening at Footes Lane - but satisfaction was perhaps the overriding one come the final whistle.
The action on the pitch was almost as entertaining as the demonstrative Guernsey coach was off it, as he saw his side concede 12 points in as many minutes to fall behind at the start of the match before fighting back to be on level terms once more by the interval.
They then pulled ahead to such a degree that the final winning margin of three points seems far more tense than was actually the case as Hertford came up with a couple of late consolation tries, the second of which arrived when they had been reduced to 13 men following two red cards.
The dismissals of both Luke Sloan and Lewis Hett were the result of receiving two yellow cards apiece in a match that was full of pace, passion and no little needle, with both sides and their vociferous supporters in the Garenne Stand taking it in turns to berate the referee from virtually first minute to last and beyond.
For the neutral it was highly enjoyable fare, not that there were many neutrals in attendance.
Hertford, buoyed by a boisterous contingent who had made the trip to the island, made a flying start and there were not even 90 seconds on the clock when wing Alex Bendin scored the opening try cutting through the defensive line all too easily on the left hand side - 5-0.
It was obvious the visitors were really up for this encounter in those initial exchanges and although kicker Stuart Smart missed the opportunity to extend their lead with a ninth-minute penalty, two minutes later they blitzed Guernsey with their second try.
It was created by full back Jack Mann's slick counterattack, gathering his own chip ahead before offloading to rampaging No. 8 Torran MacDougall, who powered his way to the line and this time Smart added the extras.
However it has become almost traditional for Guernsey to give visitors to Footes Lane a head start and eventually the homeside found their way onto the front foot and points quickly followed.
Shane Taylor came within an inch or two of touching down Blair Campbell's clever dab into the corner, only for his winger to knock on, but from the resultant scrum the pack forced a turnover which eventually led to Cameron Craine barging his way over from close range.
Sam Whitehead converted that score and six minutes later Taylor did have his try, finishing well in the corner at the end of a fine flowing move that started back on the halfway line with Jason Batiste, Campbell and Ben Mc Dougall all involved.
Five minutes into the second half, seconds after Sloan had been shown his first yellow as Hertford were repeatedly penalised deep inside their own 22, Guernsey claimed the lead for the first time in the match as Whitehead slotted over a straight forward penalty.
Within Seconds of Sloan rejoining the action from the SinBin, Guernsey conjured their third try as from a 5m scrum McDougall hit the line at pace and spun through a tackle before diving over for a converted try.
Moments later, Hett was sent to the bin for killing the ball and Guernsey made their one-man advantage count this time with their bonus point fourth try coming with quarter of an hour remaining.
AFter Nick Barton had been held up over the line, Guernsey went on the short side from the 5m scrum and it required just two passes to put substitute Luke Sayer in the corner.
Three minutes later Hertford closed the gap to eight points as fly half Shaun Brown telegraphed a long pass and intercepted to leave himself with an untouched run to the line.
However, any hopes they had of a comeback disappeared as Sloan and Hett were shown their second yellows within four minutes of each other.
'We knew it was going to be a battle up front and it definitely was, and picking up a bonus-point win against Hertford is not easy,' added Reynolds who continues to eye a top-five spot by the end of the season