The home captain was given his marching orders at Perry Park for a foul on the Mariners' Andre Gumprecht in the opening few minutes of the second period.

Lawrie McKinna's men had raced into a 2-0 interval lead, courtesy of goals from Ahmad Elrich and Dylan MacAllister.

Michael Zullo pulled one back five minutes into the second half but it wasn't enough to prevent Frank Farina's team from finishing the Pre-Season Cup without a victory.

The Mariners made it back-to-back Pre-Season Cup wins, scoring twice in the space of three first-half minutes en route to victory.

While Roar were wasteful with a bulk of possession, neat finishing from Ahmad Elrich and Dylan McAllister gave the Mariners a 2-0 half-time advantage.

Comeback keeper Mark Bosnich didn't make an appearance until the 64th minute but he made two vital contributions.

Bosnich first beat out a sweetly struck Charlie Miller shot as the Scottish midfielder raced in on the Central Coast goal, then snaffled a 'slips catch' from an otherwise goal-bound Matt McKay flick.

With Melbourne and Wellington having already qualified for the final, the match was effectively a dead rubber. But an entertaining match belied that fact, with the second half producing plenty of talking points.

Two minutes before Zullo pulled a goal back, Roar skipper Craig Moore was giving his marching orders for what referee Peter Green adjudged to be a studs-up challenge on the influential Andre Gumprecht.

Miller showed he would be one of the league's best recruits, with an energetic display notable for some deft touches and an impressive range of passing.

Earlier,Roar dominated possession for the best part of the first half-hour, only to come up empty on the scoreboard.

With Danny Tiatto generating substantial drive down the left flank and Miller dictating proceedings in the middle of the park, Roar had plenty of half-opportunities but weren't able to capitalise on time spent on the ball.

The danger of that predicament was emphasised in the 29th minute when Elrich ghosted in behind the defence to rifle home with his right foot.

The former Wellington and Fullham player had earlier headed wide from an Adrian Caceres cross when unmarked and in perfect position to score but he needed no second invitation with his second opportunity.

In less than three minutes it was 2-0 – this time through the agency of McAllister. Sasho Petrovski broke free down the left side and when his attempted chip came back of the bar, MacAllister was there to take advantage.

The Roar could easily have found itself three behind inside 40 minutes, as the increasingly prominent Petrovski's deflected shot skimmed the bar and went behind for a corner.

Much to the relief of the home crowd, Roar regained their composure as the first half wound down. Tiatto regained ascendancy down the left side and Miller very nearly had a goal when his well-struck shot was brilliantly parried by Danny Vukovic.

Miller had been teed up by a cute backheel from the promising Tim Smits.

Despite the win, McKinna 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," McKinna said.

"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."