James Sands impresses Gio van Bronckhorst on Rangers debut

Almost two weeks after his arrival from NYCFC, James Sands finally made his debut for Rangers on Tuesday night.

The defending Scottish champions faced a tough task away at Aberdeen. Starting as the deepest of a midfield three alongside Glen Kamara and Ianis Hagi, Sands was pitted against the vastly experienced Scott Brown and talented 22-year-old Lewis Ferguson.

Sands played the full 90 minutes as the Gers threw away a one-goal lead to draw 1-1 at Pittodrie. That said, they had to battle through the last seven minutes with 10 men following a second yellow card for Ryan Kent.

Though he didn't set the pitch alight, Sands certainly held his own. Aside from an early duel with Ferguson in which the Scotland international nipped first to the ball and drew a foul, the seven-capped USMNT player was a solid presence.

In all, Sands won five of his nine ground duels and two of five aerial duels, while he made three tackles, two clearances, and one interception.

Whether he was just trying to get through his debut unscathed or by design, the 21-year-old wasn't overly ambitious with his passing, but he was secure and increasingly moved Rangers up the pitch as his confidence grew. Sands ended the match with 26 accurate passes at an 81.3% success rate and it was his pass through the lines that kick-started the move for Hagi's opening goal.

While not spectacular, Sands' debut definitely provides a solid platform to build from. If nothing else, he did enough to impress head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers captain James Tavernier.

“It’s not an easy game, so I thought he did well tonight in a game that was tough for the whole team,” Van Bronckhorst said after the match. “I think he did better in the second half, especially when we put John [Lundstram] in midfield with him and it created a nice block there. We did well after the penalty kick to shut the game down and avoid letting up a winning goal.”

Captain Tavernier has been impressed with how quickly Sands - who is on an 18-month loan with Rangers with an option to buy - has blended into his surroundings, adding: “He’s gelled in really quick to the squad and to come up here [Aberdeen] for his first match, I thought he handled himself really well.

"He’s a player we can use in the future and a great squad player and I think fills in nicely, especially with Joe [Aribo] out.”

As NYCFC and USMNT will know, there is much more that Sands has to give, either as a midfielder or center-back. The youngster showed flashes of his passing prowess on his debut, and that quality should be on show more as his confidence grows. His positional awareness and defensive attributes were there for all to see throughout.

Though they failed to hold onto their lead, Rangers still hold a four-point gap over rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. Van Bronckhorst's men host Stirling Albion in the Scottish Cup fourth round on Friday evening.