CARY, N.C. – The Carolina RailHawks won their second straight friendly on Friday, downing the Wilmington Hammerheads 3-0 before a crowd of 4 136 at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Kupono Low opened the scoring in the 35th minute, and Daniel Paladini and Brian Plotkin tucked in two more in the second half.

There was some measure of revenge in the victory for the RailHawks, who lost to the Hammerheads in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup on June 16 at WakeMed Soccer Park.

“We came in, had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder from the last time we faced these guys, so getting an opportunity to come out and get it so fresh after that last loss, we definitely had a little more motivation tonight, and I think it showed,” Plotkin said.

Most importantly, though, the RailHawks seem to have rediscovered their form and made that five-match winless streak a distant memory.

“This is exactly what our coach was asking for,” Paladini said. “We needed to definitely turn things around and this was the perfect momentum, the Panama game, the other group of guys played great, and we just wanted to come and prove that we could do the same thing in this game, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Carolina triallist Gregory Richardson wreaked havoc down the left flank the entire first half, and he helped set up the RailHawks’ first goal. In the 35th minute, Richardson, after some fancy footwork to dance by his defender, sent a short cross into the centre of the area. Low, unmarked near the penalty spot, volleyed the ball in.

“He put a great ball in,” Low said. “I hoped to get over it because it was a little high. I did, I put it on frame and it went in.”

With no substitution limit for the friendly, Carolina coach Martine Rennie sent on five subs to start the second half. That wave of fresh legs, coupled with Wilmington’s wariness – they were playing for the seventh time in 20 days – wreaked havoc on the Hammerheads. The RailHawks took 11 shots in the second half to Wilmington’s five.

“I think we kept good possession of the ball, especially as the game went on,” said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. “We got better and better at possessing it. That’s what we’ve been working a lot on, and that’s starting to come together a bit.”

The RailHawks were rock solid defensively for the second straight match. Of Wilmington’s eight shots, only one of them was on frame, and Caleb Patterson saved it easily.

The RailHawks nearly went ahead 2-0 in the 55th minute. Brad Rusin beat Wilmington goalkeeper Kyle Polak to a 50-50 ball in front of the goal. The ball fell down to John Cunliffe. He hit the ball towards goal, but it was cleared off the line.

Four minutes later, Cunliffe returned the favour. Following a Steven Curfman corner kick for Wilmington, Patrick Tate half-volleyed the ball towards the far post, but Cunliffe had it covered and cleared it away.

In the 75th minute, Cunliffe sprang Sallieu Bundu free down the right side. Bundu carried the ball back towards the middle, then laid the ball off to Paladini on an overlapping run, and he buried the chance at the far post.

“We had a really good buildup and then I just saw some space around Bundu,” Paladini said. “He just gave me a perfect ball and I just slotted it right into the left side of the post.”

Plotkin finished the scoring in the 86th minute. Paladini cleverly flicked the ball onto Plotkin, and after taking a couple touches to set up his favoured left foot, Plotkin uncorked a 20-yard blast that snuck by Polak.

The RailHawks will have an eight-day break before returning to the field. They will next face the Charleston Battery on July 11 at Blackbaud Stadium. The RailHawks play their next match at WakeMed Soccer Park on July 17 against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Given their form this week, Carolina are eager to continue their recent run.

“We hit a little bit of a lull, but I think, especially tonight, we came out and we showed, especially going forward, some creativity and interchanging of positions and those kinds of things that really offset teams defensively,” Plotkin said. “So I think we’re getting back in the habits we had early in the season and you know it’s only going to benefit us as we go into the next set of the season.”