Sunderland friendly with Rangers ABANDONED after power failure in Algarve stadium
RANGERS pre-season friendly against Sunderland has been thrown into chaos in the Algarve after the game was abandoned due to a power failure.
Rangers went into half time 1-0 down to the newly promoted Championship side, only to then have the game suspended after a power failure stopped play.
After over half an hour of trying to regain light, the match officials made the call to abandon the tie.
The call won't have been taken lightly by Rangers boss Giovanni Van Bronkchorst who's pre-season preparations have been hindered as a result.
It adds to further supporter anguish after a stream provided by Premier Sports that showed the game had cut out midway through the first half, meaning that fans missed Luke O'Nien putting his side ahead before the break.
It wasn't just the TV company's stream that shut down either, Rangers TV also crashed at the same time as they will both be using the same coverage for the match.
And fans were furious as they watched their screens turn blank, while cheering on their side.
One fan couldn't mask his frustration, he said: "Rangers TV is fucking s****."
Another said: "Coverage is always terrible with stuff like this happening. Rangers are as much at fault for giving the game to them."
Some fans couldn't help but joke about the Premier Sports holding screen that supporters were left with.
He said: "Follow us, never miss a moment’ As I’m missing the first half of the rangers game."
Another said: ""Never miss a moment with Premier Sports."
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And finally one other fumed: "Can we see the goal? Premier Sports are making us all watch an advert saying, "Never miss a moment" constantly."
Meanwhile, Rangers new boy Antonio Colak started up front for Rangers against Sunderland as Gio van Bronckhorst handed the striker his first start.
The 28-year-old recently joined up with his new team after signing a three-year deal at Ibrox.
And the Croatian international is wearing his new number nine shirt for the first time this evening against Alex Neil's side.
It looks like he will be the lone striker for the fixture, with Scott Wright and Ryan Kent on both wings.
It's the usual preferred 4-5-1 formation that Van Bronckhorst has opted for during his time in Glasgow.
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