Manchester United trail SK Brann 1-0 following the first leg of third-round of qualifiers for the Champions League after a frustrating evening in Bergen, Norway, on Thursday that included several of their players' boots go missing en route to the game.
A Manchester United spokesperson confirmed after the game that the club managed to secure replacements boots for their players in time for kickoff.
On the field, it took Brann 77 minutes to break the deadlock, having had just two attempts on goal before the decisive strike. Signe Gaupset curled in a wide free kick and Ingrid Stevenik nodded the chance home.
United defeated PSV 4-0 and Hammarby 1-0 to reach this stage, but, despite being on top throughout, were unable to capitalise on their chances and now have work to do in the second leg.
"There were a few shoes that disappeared," United's Lisa Naalsund told Norwegian television after the game. "We haven't quite figured out where they are yet. It was right before we went to the stadium, so there was a bit of chaos."
Naalsund, who is from Bergen, added that her mother brought her the shoes she used in the European Championship with Norway over the summer.
"It was worse with many of her teammates," Naalsund said. "It's not ideal that someone has to play with new shoes. We would prefer to avoid that happening."
Ella Toone had two clear opportunities to earn an early lead, but she was unable to direct her efforts into the net. Three other chances from United were squandered in the first half and although the visitors were dominating in possession and were comfortably in control, they lacked a clinical edge in the final third.
A fast start to the second half almost saw Melvine Malard nudge one into the back of the net, but she couldn't connect properly and Brann mopped up the chance easily.
Selma Panengstuen was kept rather busy during the evening to keep United at bay. After spilling Dominique Janssen's initial chance, the Norwegian goalkeeper had to work hard to prevent Jess Park from finding the back of the net with the rebound.
Manager Marc Skinner had limited options on the bench with new signing Fridolina Rolfö and forwards Rachel Williams and Leah Galton carrying knocks. They also lost Grace Clinton to local rivals Manchester City, with Park moving in the opposite direction.
The three signings during the summer window has left concern over depth and rotation for Skinner's side.
United host the second leg at Leigh Sports Village next week. They will need to overturn the deficit to earn a place in the Champions League for the first time, having lost to Paris Saint-Germain the only other time United have reached this stage of the qualifiers in 2023.
Skinner said: "There was no lack of confidence tonight, but a lack of quality with our final bits.
"For us, we will take them back to Leigh Sports Village, and we need our fans to turn up in great numbers and support us and make it louder than it was in here tonight and see if Brann can deal with that pressure.
"We need to be really clinical and if we are we will win the tie. We should have been more ruthless, and we know that as a group. We will focus on that and we will be ready to fight on all fronts next week."
United will drop into the second qualifying round of the Europa Cup if they fail to progress from the tie.