Charlton may have been lining up against the Black Cats of Sunderland, but not even that could account for the dose of bad luck about to come their way in the opening moments of the League One play-off final.
A calamitous own goal just five minutes into the clash was not enough to deny Charlton promotion though, as the Addicks came back to beat Sunderland 2-1, scoring with the final kick of the game.
In front of 76,155 vocal fans at Wembley Stadium, the game started in the worst possible way for the London-based club.
Defender Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr aimed a regulation back pass towards goalkeeper Dillon Phillips, but to his horror — and that of about half of those watching from the stands — the ball skidded past Phillips and into the back of the net.
Manager Lee Bowyer seemed in a state of shock on the sidelines — a similar state to that of most Charlton supporters.
Charlton's official twitter account summed things up fairly succinctly, asking "WTF just happened?"
Although the match will now forever be remembered for that own goal, fortunately — for Charlton fans at least — it was not the deciding factor in the game.
Charlton equalised before the break through Ben Purrington.
Then, in stoppage time, Patrick Bauer broke Sunderland hearts with a 94th-minute winner to secure a 2-1 win and a spot in the Championship.
Despite the fortuitous nature of their opening goal, Sunderland's players were understandably distraught at the final whistle.
The Black Cats have not won at England's national stadium in any of their last seven visits since winning the 1973 FA Cup final.
Not only that, but one of those defeats came at the hands of Charlton in a play-off final back in 1998.
In one of the best play off finals Wembley Stadium has ever seen, Sunderland lost 7-6 on penalties after the game finished in a dramatic 4-4 draw after extra time to as Charlton gained promotion to the Premier League.
