KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Swope Park Rangers Coach Marco Dos Santos always knew it would take time for midfielder Kevin Oliveira to find his feet in his new environment.

On Wednesday night, which also marked the Cape Verde native’s 20th birthday, Oliveira had somewhat of a coming out party, as his goal and three assists led the Rangers to a big 4-0 win against Rio Grande Valley FC.

“We knew bringing him here – the talent and the quality he has – but it doesn’t happen like that,” said Dos Santos after the game. “A player that is from Africa, Cape Verde, plays in Portugal in a great organization like Benfica, then he comes here he needs time to adapt. … Every day we see more and more of him and this is a player that can be an incredible story in two or three years for the club and the organization.”

Oliveira was at the heart of much that was good about the Rangers’ performance on Wednesday, which not only snapped a three-game winless streak, but also gave the side back-to-back home wins at Children's Mercy Victory Field at Swope Soccer Village. With a road-heavy schedule to start the season, the Rangers’ victory against the Toros moved them back into playoff contention, as they now sit two points out of eighth place in the Western Conference.

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From the off, it looked a very different game to the one that had been played between the same two teams in Texas last month. As the Rangers, led by Oliveira as the tip of a midfield triangle, were able to find a rhythm early, the Toros struggled to keep possession. The breakthrough for the hosts came in the 23rd minute, as Mark-Anthony Gonzalez fired home the first of his two goals on the night.

Four minutes later, he added a second – against off an assist by Oliveira – with a clinical counter-attack that emerged off a strong clearance from the Rangers’ penalty area.

“We did all the little things right,” said Gonzalez, who now has three goals in his past two games. “This was one game where we just did everything right, everything we needed to do. Our little things going forward are on defense, so it’s a good result we’re very happy with it.”

After conceding four goals in their last meeting with the Toros, a 4-1 defeat on May 21 at the UT RGV Soccer Complex, reversing that result was particularly pleasing to Dos Santos.

“We wanted to prove that the image we left in RGV wasn’t the real image that we are,” said Dos Santos.
“I think that it was a good message when it came to the fact that we played an opponent that was the hardest probably in USL at the moment, six games without losing, and our first half was fantastic and I think it dictated pretty much the rest of the game.”

The Rangers next face another strong test, with a trip to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Sunday before they return home to host OKC Energy FC – and former Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen.

But with the form shown by Gonzalez and Oliveira on Wednesday, the introduction of new signing Ayrton as a substitute, and the side getting set to see Dane Kelly return from injury soon, things could be coming together very nicely for the Rangers as they look to make a move up the standings.

“To have Mark Gonzalez at this level doing well, and you still have guys like Dane Kelly or Ayrton that are going to bring a plus or even Kris Tyrpak that’s coming back from an injury, and now he’s slowly coming back, I think it’s only going to give us more and more options,” said Dos Santos.