USMNT REWIND: Goals from James Sands, Malik Tillman lead Rangers to Scottish Cup Quarterfinal

A pair of members of the U.S. Men's National Team pool played huge roles for Rangers in its 3-2 victory over Partick Thistle in the fifth round of the Scottish FA Cup on Sunday.

Malik Tillman scored a controversial equalizer and James Sands put home the late game winner at Ibrox to propel the defending champions into the quarterfinals.

With the game knotted at 1-1 in the 71st minute, Tillman found the net for the third consecutive match, although the way he scored created some great controversy.

The 20-year-old midfielder overstretched his right leg. One of his teammates noticed and knocked the ball out of bounds so Tillman could receive some treatment.

The match restarted with a thrown-in by Thistle’s Harry Milne, who sent the ball to Kevin Holt. Holt was going to kick the ball forward so Rangers could retain possession on their half of the pitch. Tillman, who apparently did not see what had transpired on the field while he was being worked on, bolted toward Holt. He took the ball away from him, circled goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon and deposited it into the net for a 2-1 advantage.

The opposition side players were furious and knocked Tillman down, as a melee started.

For the ensuing kickoff, Rangers manager Michael Beale instructed his players to allow Scott Tiffoney to run through its defense unimpeded for the equalizing goal past goalkeeper Allan McGregor in the 74th minute.

Sands’ heroics came later in the half, as he headed a Borna Barisic corner kick that deflected off defender Connor McAvoy and into the net for the 86th minute winner.

Tillman now has nine goals across all competitions for Rangers this season, while Sands’ winner was his first for the club.

SEVENTH HEAVEN

In its first year back in the English Premier League, Fulham has been of the most pleasant surprises, thanks in part to defenders USMNT Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson.

Both players were stalwarts on the back line for the USA in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and have carried on as standout performers for Fulham. They went the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 home win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Feb. 11, helping EPL side's cause.

Ream in particular is having one of the best seasons of his career. At age 35, the veteran center back leads all outfield players in minutes played this season with 2,067.

The Cottagers, who earned promotion from the English Championship last year, find themselves in seventh place in the EPL with a 12-8-3 mark and 35 points and eyes on a spot in Europe for the 2023-24 season. It varies how many English teams will qualify for Europe next year, depending on which sides win domestic and continental competitions. This year England has seven teams in the mix.

Neither played competed in Fulham’s 3-2 win at Sunderland in the FA Cup on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

THREE OF A KIND

For the first time in almost 15 years, three USMNT players were on the field at the same time in an EPL match. World Cup captain Tyler Adams and midfielder Weston McKennie, who made his first start after joining the team last Monday, and substitute Brenden Aaronson were on the Old Trafford pitch in the second half for Leeds United's 2-2 draw at Manchester United on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

The last time an American trio shared the field in the English first tier was May 11, 2008, when Kasey Keller, Clint Dempsey and Brian McBride played for Fulham.

The trio repeated briefly repeated the feat in Sunday’s league rematch against Manchester United, with Adams and McKennie starting, before Aaronson entered the match in the 76^th minute of the 2-0 home defeat.

FULL RUNDOWN

• Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United; English Premier League) - 17 minutes as a substitute in 2-0 loss vs. Manchester United (Feb. 12); 27 minutes as a substitute in 2-2 draw at Manchester United (Feb. 8)

• Tyler Adams (Leeds United; English Premier League) - 90 minutes in 2-0 loss vs. Manchester United (Feb. 12); 90 minutes in 2-2 draw at Manchester United (Feb. 8)

• George Bello (Arminia Bielefeld; 2. Bundesliga) - 68 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. Hansa Rostock (Feb. 10)

• Taylor Booth (Utrecht; Dutch Eredivisie) - 65 minutes in 2-0 loss at Vitesse (Feb. 12); 89 minutes in 2-1 win at AZ in KNVB Beker (Feb. 7)

• John Brooks (Hoffenheim; Bundesliga) – 90 minutes in 3-1 loss vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Feb. 11)

• Gianluca Busio (Venezia; Italian Serie B) - 6 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 win vs. SPAL (Feb. 11)

• Reggie Cannon (Boavista; Portuguese Primeira) - Vs. Casa Pia (Monday, 4:15 p.m. ET); 45 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 loss at Estoril (Feb. 12)

• Johnny Cardoso (Internacional; Brazilian Serie A) - 90 minutes in 1-0 win at Brasil de Pelotas in Gaucho (Feb. 11); 82 minutes in 2-2 draw vs. Caxias in Gaucho (Feb. 8)

• Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic; Scottish Premiership) - 90 minutes in 5-1 win vs. St. Mirren in Scottish FA Cup (Feb. 11)

• Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo, Spain La Liga) - 86 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. Atletico Madrid (Feb. 12)

• Sergiño Dest (AC Milan; Italy Serie A) - Injured, DNP in 1-0 win vs. Torino (Feb. 10)

• Daryl Dike (West Bromwich Albion; English Championship) - 68 minutes in 2-0 loss at Birmingham City (Feb. 10)

• Ethan Horvath (Luton Town; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 1-1 draw at Coventry City (Feb. 11); 90 minutes in 3-0 loss at Grimsby Town in FA Cup (Feb. 7)

• Richy Ledezma (PSV; Dutch Eredivisie) - In 18, DNP in 6-0 win vs. Groningen (Feb. 11); In 18, DNP in 3-1 win vs. Emmen in KNVB Baker (Feb. 8)

• Weston McKennie (Leeds United; English Premier League) - 86 minutes in 2-0 loss vs. Manchester United (Feb. 12); 89 minutes in 2-2 draw at Manchester United (Feb. 8)

• Mark McKenzie (Genk; Belgian Pro League) - 90 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. Antwerp (Feb. 12)

• Djordje Mihailovic (AZ Alkmaar; Dutch Eredivisie) - Injured, DNP in 5-0 win vs. (Feb. 10)

• Yunus Musah (Valencia; Spain La Liga) - 69 minutes in 2-1 loss vs. Athletic Bilbao (Feb. 11)

• Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes; French Ligue 1) - 90 minutes in 4-0 loss at Reims (Feb. 12)

• Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg; Bundesliga) - 37 minutes as a substitute in 0-0 draw vs. Schalke 04 (Feb. 10)

• Jordan Pefok (Union Berlin; Bundesliga) - 27 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 win at RB Leipzig (Feb. 11)

• Ricardo Pepi (Groningen; Dutch Eredivisie) - 85 minutes in 6-0 loss at PSV (Feb. 11)

• Tim Ream (Fulham; English Premier League) - 90 minutes in 2-0 win vs. Nottingham Forest (Feb. 11); Not in 18, DNP in 3-2 win in FA Cup at Sunderland (Feb. 8)

• Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund; Bundesliga) - 66 minutes in 2-0 win at Werder Bremen (Feb. 11); 1 minute as a substitute in 2-1 win at Bochum (Feb. 8)

• Bryan Reynolds (Westerlo; Belgian Pro League) - 88 minutes in 3-3 draw vs. Gent (Feb. 11)

• Chris Richards (Crystal Palace; English Premier League) - Injured, DNP in 1-1 draw vs. Brighton & Hove Albion (Feb. 11)

• Antonee Robinson (Fulham; English Premier League) - 90 minutes in 2-0 win vs. Nottingham Forest (Feb. 11); In 18, DNP in 3-2 win in FA Cup at Sunderland (Feb. 8)

• Josh Sargent (Norwich City; English Championship) - 61 minutes in 1-0 loss at Bristol City (Feb. 11)

• Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach; Bundesliga) - 89 minutes in 4-1 loss at Hertha Berlin (Feb. 12)

• James Sands (Rangers; Scottish Premiership) – 90 minutes in 3-1 win vs. Partick Thistle in Scottish FA Cup (Feb. 12)

• Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 3-1 win at Cardiff City (Feb. 11)

• Malik Tillman (Rangers; Scottish Premiership) - 90 minutes in 3-1 win vs. Partick Thistle in Scottish FA Cup (Feb. 12)

• Auston Trusty (Birmingham City; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 2-0 win vs. West Bromwich Albion (Feb. 10)

• Matt Turner (Arsenal; English Premier League) - In 18, DNP in 1-1 vs. Brentford (Feb. 11)

• Tim Weah (Lille; French Ligue 1) – 87 minutes in 2-0 win vs. Strasbourg (Feb. 12)