With Melbourne and Wellington already through to the cup final, the match was a dead rubber and Farina could not hide his frustration at the likelihood of being without Moore for the first game of the season proper against Wellington on August 17.

He said: "It shows this Pre-Season Cup is killing clubs.

"Last year in the same game against the same opponents we had two red cards and four yellows. This year we've lost our captain.

"You're going to have the first round of A-League with probably 70 percent of the best players not playing with Olympic duties and now suspensions."

"Personally I think they should just let us organise our own friendlies if we want to."

Farina said a review of footage would determine whether Roar opted to appeal Moore's dismissal.

The player himself did not believe he had launched a two-footed tackle on Andre Gumprecht as referee Peter Green had decreed.

Farina said: "We'll review the video and if we feel it's worth an appeal then we'll go through the process.

"It wasn't a nice looking tackle but I didn't believe it was a straight red.

"There is a new rule this year that you can appeal a red card if you feel it's unjust. The proof will be in the pudding."

Farina may have an unlikely ally in Central Coast manager Lawrie McKinna, who described the red card as 'a wee bit harsh'.

McKinna said: "He's gone in for the ball and I didn't see two feet in there.

"I think it was unfortunate for Craig and now he misses the start of the season. Nobody wants that; you want the best players out on the park for (the sake of) the league.

"And Craig is high profile."

McKinna also had a bone to pick after the match, but his beef wasn't with the pre-season cup itself, rather the patchy surface at Perry Park.

The injury-ravaged Mariners only had 14 fit players to choose from and lost Ahmad Elrich (shin) and Nigel Boogaard (thigh) before the 90 minutes was out.

"The park was shocking and I don't agree with playing pre-season matches where the park is not up to it.

"You are worried about injuries and things and that's the first thing you look at. To me, the match shouldn't have been played here."

"I'm happy with the concept (Pre-Season Cup) but if you are going to play away from the major stadiums, the ground has to be up to a certain level," he said.