EDMONTON, Alb. – Carolina RailHawks midfielder Brian Farber made his first start since May 14 on Wednesday night, and he made an immediate impression.

Farber scored after just 108 seconds of play at Foote Field, but the RailHawks were unable to see their early lead through to the end and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Edmonton.

Farber’s quick strike set the stage for an eventful 90 minutes. The particularly physical match finished with two red cards, four yellow cards and a combined 32 fouls.

“Obviously, we started real well with the goal and we were playing well after that,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “But I felt like when they got a man sent off, it affected us a bit. We didn’t possess the ball as well as we wanted to. And they played well, being down to 10 men. At the end of the day, it’s a point on the road against the team closest to us in the table, and it keeps us 13 points clear at the top.”

In the second minute, Farber ran down a long ball in the right corner, touched it by Edmonton defender Alex Surprenant on the end line, then struck a shot that deflected off  Edmonton defender John Janke and into the goal.

Up 1-0 early, the match could have permanently swung in the RailHawks’ favor 20 minutes later, when Janke was sent off  for a reckless tackle on the RailHawks' Matt Watson.

But the RailHawks(12-2-2) were unable to capitalize with the man advantage. They finished the night with six shots, their second lowest total of the season. With fewer looks on goal, converting the chances when they presented themselves was vital.

In the 32nd minute, Floyd Franks forced a turnover deep in Edmonton’s end. He nearly broke in on Rein Baart’s goal, but the ball was tackled away by Edmonton defender Paul Hamilton. Carolina forward Etienne Barbara kept the play alive and fired a shot from 18 yards that was just wide.

In the 62nd minute, Barbara got around his defender and went in on goal one-v-one with Baart from the left flank. Baart covered the angle and the rebound deflected to Campos, who’s try on the goal from eight yards was incredibly saved by Baart.

Shortly thereafter, the tide turned toward Edmonton (7-4-4).

In the 76th minute, Carolina defender Cory Miller and Edmonton forward Dan Antoniuk became entangled going for a 50-50 ball in the area, and Miller was whistled for a foul, giving Edmonton a penalty kick and chance to tie. Shaun Saiko converted the spot kick to even the match at 1-1.

Things got worse for the RailHawks 90 seconds later, when defender John Krause drew his second yellow card of the night, this one for a late tackle on Antoniuk, and he was sent off.

With Edmonton in control, they went on the attack. But RailHawks goalkeeper Brad Knighton was there when called upon, as he’d been throughout the night.

In the 81st minute, Antoniuk had a great look from 10 yards, but Knighton tipped it away, the finest of his seven saves on the evening.

The RailHawks had one last try for the game winner, but Baart stood tall one final time. In the 84th minute, Allan Russell headed a ball to the far post on Kupono Low’s throw-in, but the Edmonton goalkeeper laid out and touched it around the frame.

After their two-games-in-four-days jaunt to the upper Midwest, the RailHawks return home for a 10-day break before facing Edmonton for the final time in 2011. They’ll meet at WakeMed Soccer Park on July 23 at 7 p.m.

“We get a 10-day break now,” Rennie said. “We’ve done really well, and now we need a little break to recharge our batteries and get ready to go again. We’ve been on a good run, and we’re always expecting to win, but a point on the road is not a bad thing.”

CAROLINA 1, EDMONTON 1

LINEUPS

CAR: GK Brad Knighton, D Kupono Low, D Cory Miller, D John Krause, D Devon McKenney, M Floyd Franks, M Matt Watson, M Jonny Steele, M Brian Farber (Cory Elenio, 80th), F Pablo Campos (Allen Russell, 63), F Etienne Barbara
EDM: GK Rein Baart, D Antonio Rago, D Paul Hamilton, D John Jonke, M Alex Surprenant, M Shaun Saiko (Alex Sements, 81st), M Chris Kooy, M Dominic Oppong, F Daniel Antoniuk, F Kyle Yamada (Chris Lemire, 74th), F Kyle Porter (Conrad Smith, 65th)

SCORING SUMMARY

CAR: Brian Farber, 2nd
EDM: Shaun Saiko, 76th

CAUTIONS

CAR: John Krause, 37th; Cory Miller, 76th
EDM: Alex Surprenant, 43rd; Shaun Saiko, 74th

EJECTIONS

EDM: John Janko, 22nd
CAR: John Krause, 78th

SHOTS

CAR: 6
EDM: 15

FOULS

CAR: 23
EDM: 9