— Following the Carolina RailHawks’ 1-0 loss to Rayo OKC Wednesday evening, loiterers spied a baby copperhead snake wriggling in the hallway outside the teams’ locker rooms. A quick boot dispatched the snakelet.

It was an apt metaphor for the perennially snakebit RailHawks, which came into their penultimate home match of the 2016 NASL regular season with an opportunity to leapfrog into fourth position in the league’s overall standings, placing them in the pole position—even if temporarily—for the final NASL postseason berth with three games left on the schedule.

Four other teams are vying for that last playoff spot, including Rayo OKC, the RailHawks’ opponent tonight at WakeMed Soccer Park. With a difficult road match at Indy Eleven lurking three days hence, tonight was one of the RailHawks’ last, best opportunities to grab a full, valuable three points.

Or so you’d think. Apparently playing for a set of dwindling and less advantageous tomorrows, the RailHawks squandered their meager scoring opportunities, then surrendered a score late in the match to hand Rayo OKC the victory.

After a scoreless first half, Carolina manager Colin Clarke made a couple of second-half subs that finally pushed the RailHawks in earnest for a goal. But it was the visitors who found the net in the 83rd minute. An incisive Rayo OKC build-up saw sub Billy Forbes penetrate the area and then play the ball over Moises Hernandez, who played over to Richie Menjivar, who found Michel positioned far post. Michel settled the ball onto his preferred left foot, then deposited it into the upper 90 for the shock 1-0 game-winner.

Tonight was the first match defender Mickey Daly didn’t start at center back for the RailHawks since their 6-1 loss at the New York Cosmos on August 27, a span of eight games. Carolina had surrendered just five goals over those eight games.

Rayo OKC was without forwards Robbie Findley (who was on the bench but didn’t play) and Devon Sandoval, along with midfielder Georgios Samaras. After the match, Rayo OKC manager Gerard Nus was elated over the result, and the WakeMed Stadium grass turf.

“It was two teams fighting for the playoffs, playing on the best pitch in the NASL,” Nus gushed. “So we saw good soccer, some good combinations, nice play, and I love that. At the end, we both caught good moments, but I honestly thought we deserved [the win]. We showed fighting spirit until the end and composure in the last minutes.”

Besides Daly, Clarke also rotated regulars Tiyi Shipalane, Brian Shriver and Austin da Luz out of the starting XI—in their place, Clarke ran out Marvin Ceballos, Billy Schuler and James Marcelin. The three regulars started last Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. That said, a host of other starters tonight also started against the Strikers, including Matt Fondy, Matt Watson, Nazmi Albadawi, Steven Miller and Kareem Moses.

The RailHawks were out-possessed and outshot all night until Shipalane and da Luz came on in the 66th minute. Rayo OKC’s game-winning goal was fed from the left side of the area, where Daly is normally positioned at center back.

After the match, Clarke directly address his rotation decisions.

“They [Shipalane, Shriver and da Luz] wouldn’t have been able to go Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday,” Clarke began. “So we decided to make some changes and bring in some fresh legs we felt we would need tonight, and have them available for Saturday.

“There’s a lot of science involved in the game now, and just people getting tired and fatigued. We keep a good eye on the analytics we have on how people are feeling and how their rest of going. You’re trying to prevent injuries … and we’re managing them all and keep them healthy for these last four games.”

“I don’t think the starting XI from Sunday, if they had stepped on the field, I think they would have been spent after 45 minutes,” Clarke continued. “That’s was the feeling, and talking to the players, as well. The players know their body better than anybody, how they felt and recovered. The easy decision is put the same team out there, and it doesn’t go great. You put your freshest bodies out there with a chance to win, and I thought the group who was out there to start the game was more than capable of winning the game, and I thought they proved that, particularly in the second half.”

The RailHawks (10-7-12, 37 pts.) slide to seventh in the NASL overall table, They’ll get put their analytics to the test this Saturday, now needing a victory out of a daunting road trip to third-place Indy Eleven. Carolina lost 4-1 at Indy in June to close the NASL spring season.

The RailHawks conclude their 2016 home season on Saturday, October 22 when they host Minnesota United FC.

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

CAR: Sylvestre, Miller, Tobin, Mensing, Moses, Watson, Marcelin (Shriver, 83’), Albadawi, Ceballos (da Luz, 66’), Schuler (Shipalane, 66’), Fondy

OKC; Fernandes, Kimura, Danso, Ibeagha, Michel, Pecka (Hernandez, 61’), Van Schaik, Boateng, Yuma, Menjivar (Gibson, 87’), Chavez (Forbes, 76’)

GOAL

CAR: ---

OKC: Michel, 82’ (Menjivar)

CAUTIONS

CAR: Albadawi, 59’

OKC: Yuma, 28’; Menjivar, 55’

EJECTIONS

CAR: ---

OKC: ---

ATTENDANCE: 3,308