"We've had a tough week," Arnold told Fox Sports. "We had Wellington last Sunday (1-0 win), Brisbane on Wednesday night (3-3 draw), then today in very warm conditions.

"I thought it was a very good performance by us in those conditions, bit sloppy at times, but overall I'm very proud of the boys."

Arnold revealed he spoke to his players at half-time when they were 1-0 up about turning their dominance into a win. The Mariners boss recalled the last time these two met as an example to learn from.

"We remembered what happened last time here, they scored in the 92nd minute from a long throw and we just wanted to make sure that wouldn't happen again," he said.

"That's what we talked about at half-time. We were so dominant in the first-half and even in the second-half and if you don't get the second goal you always give them the opportunity to get back into the game."

The win moves the Mariners above Adelaide in second spot on goal difference and Arnold revealed his delight at his side's position at this stage of the season.

"I didn't think at the start of the year we'd be in second place because our goals were to make the top six, and still our goal is to make the top four but we're going to give the top two a real shake," he said.

Central Coast's next match is away to Perth Glory on Wednesday.