Etienne Barbara’s arrival to the RailHawks came a little later than he would have preferred, but both sides are grateful he made it in time for Saturday’s season opener.

Less than 24 hours after arriving in the Triangle from Malta, Barbara played 11 minutes against Puerto Rico and looked to have rescued a point for the RailHawks when he drew a penalty kick in the 86th minute and then converted the try to even the match at 1-1. It was all for naught, though, when Puerto Rico’s Jay Needham headed in a corner kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time – seconds from the final whistle.

That Barbara was even on the field came as a surprise to him.

“To be quite honest, I was a bit surprised when coach called me at 3 o’clock [Saturday] and told me I was going to be on the bench,” Barbara said. “Because of the time difference I didn’t sleep at all. I wasn’t really prepared for a game, but I said O.K. He said maybe I’ll play the last 20, and I said O.K. It’s good to be back.”

It took Barbara, the RailHawks leading scorer in 2010 with eight goals and two assists, roughly 15 hours to get from Malta to Cary on Friday. He had connections in Frankfurt and Toronto before reaching his final destination – and he had a six-hour time difference to contend with.

As far as his internal clock was concerned, it was about 4:30 a.m. when he checked into Saturday’s match.

But it didn’t show.

Six minutes after checking in, he gathered a rebound from Floyd Franks’ 25-yard free kick and was taken down in the corner of the Islanders’ penalty area.

He quickly grabbed the ball, placed it on the spot and hammered into to the upper corner of the goal to tie the game at 1-1.

The surge of adrenaline that came from the equalizer was vanquished moments later, when the Islanders stole the game-winner 3:50 into the four minutes of stoppage time.

“It’s a pity we didn’t at least get a point at home,” Barbara said. “I need some sleep now.”

Knighton the spot

Goalkeeper Brad Knighton had seven saves against the Islanders – the most ever for a RailHawk goalkeeper in his club debut.

Knighton had plenty of additional support in the stands. More than 15 family and friends – his grandparents from Roanoke, Va., his in-laws from Greensboro, high school friends from Hickory and college friends from Wilmington – were at WakeMed Soccer Park Saturday to see him play.

“It’s nice being back home,” Knighton said. “I’ve got friends and family all over, so it’s been really nice.”

Though surely he would have preferred a win in his first start in goal with the RailHawks, if he continues to play like he did Saturday, plenty of victories are on the horizon.

Other notes

• Barbara has scored three goals in two season openers with the RailHawks. Oddly enough, all three have been scored with one team at less than full strength.Last season against St. Louis, Barbara scored two goals in the first 26 minutes when St. Louis was playing with 10 men because it left behind a player registration pass at the team hotel. On Saturday, Barbara’s 86th-minute PK came with the RailHawks down a man.
• Saturday’s game marked the 10th time in club history a goalkeeper made at least seven saves. Knighton’s seven-save effort has him tied for sixth on the club’s all-time list for saves in a game.
• Defender Cory Miller made his professional debut on Saturday, getting the start at centerback for captain Brad Rusin, who sat out the game on a red card suspension.
• Saturday’s loss marked the end of the RailHawks’ four-match unbeaten streak in home openers (3-1-1).