CARY - Etienne Barbara’s penalty kick didn’t just bring the home WakeMed Soccer Park crowd to its feet, it eased the nerves of a Carolina RailHawks team that has been hoping to snap out of its August funk.

Carolina entered its Saturday game with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers just 0-2-1 on the month, which left the door open as a once seemingly insurmountable double-digit, first-place lead dwindled to just six points.

The RailHawks (15-4-3) got back on the right track with a 2-0 home victory that kept it team six points clear of second-place Puerto Rico (13-5-5), which also won Saturday. The RailHawks have just six games left in the season, including four on the road.

“We were desperate for a win,” Barbara said. “We had a 15-16 point leads at one point and lost half of it in two and a half weeks. It’s like an alarm clock and wake up call. Otherwise, we were going to lose what we built in the beginning. It would be a shame if we didn’t win the championship right now.”

Barbara’s league-leading 17th goal of the season in the 31st minute – after he was taken down in the box by a Strikers (6-6-10) player – gave Carolina a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

In the second half, forward Pablo Campos’ through ball found a streaking Matt Watson. Watson was set up for a one-on-one with the Fort Lauderdale goalkeeper, and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner for a 2-0 RailHawks lead in the 57th minute.

Watson said that one of the major adjustments that needed to be made was the players’ uneasiness that started seeping into their confidence when the wins stopped coming. It didn’t help that in three of Carolina’s four losses, the RailHawks have been defeated in stoppage time.

“Everyone was a little bit nervous. We had won so many games, and as soon as we lost one, we didn’t know what was going on,” Watson said. “It was huge for us to get a win and get some of our confidence back.”

Barbara’s theory on what has changed and needed tweaking didn’t focus on the psychological aspects but the style of play.

He said that the team is better served when playing more balls on the ground and fewer in the air.

“As long as we can keep possession and make the other players run, we always find spaces,” Barbara said. “The more possession we keep, the less tired we get. The ball moves faster than anybody else. So make it go around – it’s nice football, we don’t get tired and when we keep possession (the other team) will chase and we will get behind them.”

The RailHawks were playing their third game in eight days. It was the first home game since having its home win streak snapped with last Wednesday’s tie against Minnesota.

Carolina has still not lost at home since the season opener. Players hope that the win was the first step in getting back to where the team was at the beginning of the year when it opened with a 12-1-1 record.

“We got back to basics (tonight),” Watson said.