It was a bittersweet return to Edmonton for Paul Hamilton Sunday.

Yes, the Carolina RailHawks defender scored a sensational goal, but his team lost a critical game.

That seems to be par for the course for Hamilton, though. There’s always mixed emotions when the 25-year-old returns to his home province and the city where he got his break into pro soccer.

“I spent three good years here, it’s never going to get easy,” The Calgary native said following Carolina’s 2-1 loss that leaves them seven points back of first-place New York with only four games to play.

“It’s always going to be tough coming back here , I’ve got a lot of family and friends that came to the game today to support me, so that’s always nice. But playing (against) some guys that I played with for a few years -- it’s nice to see them, but it’s also tough.”

This was Hamilton’s second trip back to Edmonton since signing with the RailHawks in the off-season. While it’s meant being away from his wife and family, life in Carolina otherwise is working out just fine.

“You can’t complain about the weather, you can’t complain about the facilities we play in, our stadium is top-class, I would say it’s the best in this league, so it’s great training down there every single day,” said Hamilton, who had a large supporters section at Clarke Stadium Sunday. “I love what I do down there right now, and I wouldn’t change it. “

Hamilton suited up for the Eddies during their first two NASL seasons, 2011 and 2012, totalling 51 appearances and scoring twice. He started every game he played, and was named to the league’s Best XI team last year.

With his inspired, hard-nosed play, and unruly long hair that whipped every which way during game play, Hamilton was a hit with FCE Fans.

A natural leader, the six-foot defender also made an impact on his teammates. On Sunday, though, he was trying to leave a different kind of mark with the Eddies.

“I think once you step over the line and the whistle blows, anything goes,” he said. “They’ll kick me, I’ll kick them, it doesn’t really matter. After the game we’re friends again. Everybody’s a professional here, they know what the game’s about, so (there’s) no love lost.”