A mad dash by their kit man helped Wellington Phoenix overcome a shirt clash and Western United, the New Zealand outfit holding firm to top place on the A-League Men table.
The Phoenix made easy work of John Aloisi's beleaguered side with a 2-0 win at Sky Stadium on Saturday in a match delayed after United realised they'd brought the wrong kit to New Zealand.
The stuff-up didn't bother the Nix, who went ahead after just 123 seconds through Nicholas Pennington's strike.
Pennington was also involved in the second goal, which came two minutes after halftime, with the midfielder's header assessed as a James Donachie own goal.
Western United's best effort was a Daniel Penha free kick which hit the bar, as the result ran true to form: first place beating bottom.
Wellington's performance was closer to a professional shift than their very best, but coach Giancarlo Italiano was satisfied.
"We scored in the right time, both early in the first half, early in the second half ... overall very happy," Italiano said.
Western's on-field showing typified their lacklustre campaign but their off-field blunder added a new dimension to their season of struggle.
As Wellington had opted to play in all black, United had been instructed to wear their non-clashing all-white away kit.
Instead, they arrived with their black-and-green home strip and, without a replacement in the country, it was up to the Phoenix to accommodate their mistake.
The mix-up caused a 15-minute delay to kick-off, as Phoenix staffer Jack Mapp made a trip to the club's training facility, located half-an-hour's drive north in Upper Hutt.
An A-Leagues spokesman said officials would "investigate the situation further and take action where necessary", with Aloisi unclear what went wrong.
"We've made a mistake, obviously. Not sure what happened there," he said.
In another A-Leagues blunder on Saturday, the team bus for Sydney FC's women's side went to the wrong venue, delaying their kick-off with hosts Melbourne City by half an hour.
In the Kiwi capital, the Phoenix warmed up in their black kit, but changed into their yellow gear for the match.
Attacker Bozhidar Kraev's regular No.11 shirt did not make it to Sky Stadium, so the star Bulgarian took to the field in an un-named No.49.
He was involved in Wellington's quickfire opener - Kosta Barbarouses racing through the United defence and crossing to Kraev who cut back to Pennington for a tap-in.
The Phoenix dominated possession, but survived a scare when Penha hit a free kick which swirled in the Wellington wind onto the bar just before the half-hour mark.
Italiano's side repeated their sharp start after the halftime break to seal the win.
Alex Rufer took possession after smart interplay in the middle of the park, spreading the ball to Tim Payne who crossed for Pennington, who headed home via Donachie.
The result leaves United rooted to the bottom with just eight points, eight behind second-bottom Perth Glory.
Wellington's seventh clean sheet of the season opened a five-point buffer at the top ahead of the round's remaining matches.
Italiano revealed Pennington (foot) and Rufer (ankle) played through the pain after first-half knocks that would require further investigation.
