Giovanni van Bronckhorst questions Ryan Kent’s dismissal against Aberdeen as Rangers drop two vital points

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst suffered his first Premiership setback after watching his side’s nine-match winning sequence come to an end against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Ianis Hagi opened the scoring for the Light Blues after 20 minutes before the Dons responded from the penalty spot on 73 minutes when Alfredo Morelos was penalised for handball inside the box and Lewis Ferguson converted from 12-yards.

Rangers ended the game with 10 men after Ryan Kent was harshly sent off in the closing stages after picking up two yellow cards to ensure their lead at the top of the table was cut to four points.

Van Bronckhorst was satisfied to come away with a point but questioned referee Kevin Clancy’s decision to award a spot-kick.

Speaking to Rangers TV, he said: “It was a very physical game, a very hectic game. We knew in an atmosphere like this it was going to be hard.

“We were playing against a good Aberdeen side, they were pressing us for the early goal but we scored first, which was good.

“First-half we had right moments to press and maybe create a chance to score another one, but I think defensively we were a bit better in the second half, especially for the first 20-25 minutes where we didn’t give any chances away.

“We should have been more confident and dominant on the ball to create a second goal but we weren’t our normal self which can happen in a game.

“After the penalty and going down to ten men, we had to make sure we kept the scoreline to 1-1 as Aberdeen were pushing really hard to get a late winner but we did everything we could to make sure we go back to Glasgow with a point.

“It’s harsh to get a penalty against us from a set-piece. I don’t know if the handball was on purpose but the ref decided it was a penalty. Even when he took the penalty, the ball moved in the wind.

“Without VAR you cannot see well, so we have to just accept the referee’s decision and move on.”

Asked for his thoughts on the two bookings that led to Kent’s dismissal, the Dutchman added: “I’ve not seen them yet.

“It was a very physical game with a lot of duals and a lot of tackles. I thought the second one was a bit harsh initially but again I can’t overturn the referee’s decision.

“We had to adapt to the situation and we defended well, so I’m glad to take a point.”

Skipper James Tavernier felt they gifted Aberdeen too many sights at goal and challenged his team-mates to learn from their mistakes.

He stated: “Disappointed (with the result). We came up here to take three points but we didn’t reach the levels that we know we can.

“I thought we showed promise in the first-half, creating chances and it was a great goal that we made but we let them have too many chances on Greegsy (Allan McGregor) tonight, which we been recently.

“They caused us a few problems in certain areas, which we dealt with for most of the game but we just didn’t create the chances we usually do.

“We’ll look back on the game and identify things we need to improve on so that it’s not easy for the opposition to break the lines.

“The penalty award is harsh, the ball hits him but we’ve got to take that on the chin and then it’s a bit of an uphill battle when Ryan gets sent off.

“But I thought the lads showed good character to see out the game, we didn’t lose but we’re obviously disappointed not to come away with three points.”

New York City loanee James Sands was handed his Rangers debut from the start and impressed onlookers in a deep-lying midfield role.

Tavernier added: “He’s gelled in really quickly to the squad. It was obviously a big test for him to come up here and make his debut but I thought he handled himself really well.

“He’s a player that we can use a lot in the future. He’s got to keep the levels high, especially with Joe (Aribo) away at the minute but that’s the quality of player we’re bringing in.”

Team: Allan McGregor 6, James Tavernier 6, Connor Goldson 6, Calvin Bassey 6, Borna Barisic 5, Ianis Hagi 6, (Fashion Sakala 1), Glen Kamara 5, James Sands 6, Scott Wright 6, (John Lundstram 3), Alfredo Morelos 6, (Cedric Itten 1), Ryan Kent 6

Unused: Jon McLaughlin (GK), Jack Simpson, Juninho Bacuna, Leon Balogun, Leon King, Charlie McCann