WILMINGTON, N.C. – After a trip that saw Wilmington Hammerheads FC first visit USL Eastern Conference leaders Louisville City FC last Saturday, and then trek to face Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake on Tuesday in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the team’s 1-1 draw against fellow playoff contender Bethlehem Steel FC in its return to Legion Stadium was a satisfactory enough result on Friday night.

The Hammerheads got a goal early in the second half from Ashani Fairclough that cancelled out the Steel’s opener by Seku Conneh, which extended the team’s undefeated streak in the league to four games.

“They’ve had a long stretch of games and I think it was pretty obvious to see how tired they were tonight,” said Coach Mark Briggs. “We got something out of the game and I always tell them to get something out of every situation so we got something out of this game and that’s a positive.”

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In all, the Hammerheads logged the equivalent of 4,547 miles in their two-legged trip. Add in overtime against RSL on Tuesday night as the team battled to a 2-2 draw before falling in a penalty shootout to the strong MLS side, and that meant some tired legs for the players on the field.

The fatigue showed early, as the Steel were able to gain the upper hand and were rewarded with Conneh’s classy lobbed finish in the 20th minute. After being gifted an equalizer for Fairclough, though, the team appeared to get stronger as the second half went on. Steel goalkeeper Samir Badr made up for his error on the goal with some big saves, and Briggs was a little disappointed the side hadn’t come away with all three points.

“They took a while to get their legs back,” Briggs said. “We did everything we could from a recovery standpoint, but it takes 20 or 25 minutes to get their legs back. By that time we were already down 1-0, which is too late. But they reacted well. They reacted to what we told them at halftime and they came out, got a goal, and probably should’ve gotten one or two more.”

The Hammerheads will now get time to recuperate before their next game on June 26, which could be a crucial one against the New York Red Bulls II as the season nears the halfway point.

“It’ll be good for the players,” Briggs said. “They’ll have a few days off now and get away from soccer, get away from the game and relax.  Then we’ll come back next week and recuperate for a big game against New York Red Bulls II.”