When Burnley fans first heard the news that their team bus had been caught up in traffic on the way to Selhurst Park – and that their game at Crystal Palace would be delayed by 10 minutes as a result – they may have been fearing the worst.
After all, this was hardly ideal preparation for a team lying second bottom in the Premier League table, 11 points adrift of safety and without a win in their last 16 top-flight games.
With 12 minutes of the first half remaining, by which time Jorgen Strand Larsen's double had helped Palace breeze into a 2-0 first-half lead, the Clarets faithful will have been resigned to another bruising defeat, continuing their agonising slide back towards the Championship.