Rangers’ partner club Orange County SC are on course for a significant achievement after two impressive recent victories.
OCSC, who entered into an official partnership with Rangers in December 2019, were only formed in 2010 as ‘Los Angeles Blues’.
There’s no better partner than @RangersFC 💪
— Orange County SC (@orangecountysc) February 10, 2021
They have a Western Conference second-tier title to their name but performed poorly last season, finishing ninth.
The squad was freshened up considerably ahead of the 2021 campaign, though, and results have improved.
Although Rhys Breen and Jack Thomson returned to Rangers a few months into the campaign before joining Dunfermline (permanent) and Queen’s Park (loan), respectively, OCSC have still managed to get to third place in the Western Conference Pacific table and are very much on course for the playoffs.
With three defeats in four matches in a run stretching from mid-September to 10 October, it looked as though Rangers’ partners were choking with the end in sight.
However, they have turned things around in the past week, defeating runaway leaders Phoenix Rising 1-0 on Thursday and fellow playoff hopefuls Oakland Roots by the same scoreline on Sunday.
Former Rangers centre-back Rob Kiernan has been a near ever-present in defence, while ex-Dundee United player Dillon Powers has also been a key man in midfield.
OCSC’s playoff spot isn’t confirmed yet, but with only a few regular-season matches remaining and a nine-point gap to the fifth-placed Roots, it would now take a disastrous run of results for them to miss out.
Kiernan isn’t the only former Rangers player currently thriving in the US, though.