Kit confusion disrupts Newcastle friendly against Leverkusen

Newcastle midfielder Anthony Elanga, wearing the club's third kit, crossses the ball during a 2-1 pre-season friendly loss by Bayer Leverkusen at St James' Park (SCOTT HEPPELL) Newcastle were forced into a change of shirts during the first half of their pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen at St James' Park on Saturday. The English Premier League side walked out in their traditional black and white home kit, which has a blue trim, but decided to switch during the first hydration break. This was because of an apparent colour clash with Bayer Leverkusen's away kit -- mint with a blue pattern -- with Newcastle players putting on their lilac third strip instead. "I was a bit surprised when they (Leverkusen) came out for kick-off," Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle told the BBC. "(The change) was done because (the shirt colour) was so close to each other so it was smart to use the first hydration beak to change it. "Probably from the stands, from your perspective, it was not easy to distinguish between the two teams." The German side went on to win the game 2-1. bur-jdg/bsp