While Wellington Phoenix fans could not question the effort of their team, as they gallantly exited the A-League playoffs in extra time, disgruntled Sky Stadium patrons have erupted in social media disgust at the catering performance on display.
The Phoenix ended their recordbreaking season with a 2-1 semi-final defeat to Melbourne Victory in front of their biggest-ever home crowd of 33,297, with a last-gasp goal from stiker Oskar Zawada extending the contest into another 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the stands, discontent was brewing, as fans sought sustainance to get them through the nervewracking spectacle in front of them. They found the fare on offer far less palatable than the action on the field.
"Korean Chicken Burger - $16.90," posted Luke Grindlay on Facebook. "Compliments to the chef, Sky Stadium."
The accompanying image has met with sympathetic howls of protest from others.
"Wow, they must count on you being both extremely drunk and rich!," said one commenter. "Luckily, the often go together."
"Food there is always TERRIBLE," said another. "I had fries at Armageddon and I had to throw them out, because of how badly cooked and thickly coated in salt they were."
"They like to keep the mass down, so you won't be able to throw it too far," suggested another.
"That's a physical manifestation of someone's own person misery," concluded another. "Eating that would feel like eating free range apathy."
Stadium administration agrees and has apologised.
"At Sky Stadium, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of quality and customer satisfaction," said a spokesperson. "The burger in question clearly fell well short of our expected standards and for this we apologise.
"We are in the process of investigating how this lapse occurred and will be reviewing our procedures to ensure this does not happen again.
"We encourage customers who are not happy with any product purchased at an event to return it to the catering outlet they bought it from for a fresh replacement, no questions asked. That way, the issue can be resolved on the night."
