The Mariners win moves them onto 36 points in third, just one point behind the out-of-sorts Reds, who have lost three matches in a row.

"It's a pretty massive win for us," Simon told FoxSports after the game.

"It's one of the best we've had at home this year, especially because we closed the gap on Adelaide.

"We're one point behind now with a couple of games in hand, so we're pretty happy with that one."

Mariners coach Graham Arnold said: "The tempo was a little bit low in the first-half, but we've got great belief in this squad in what we're doing is the right thing. We've got great characters and they want to improve every week.

Arnold added: "It was a good Christmas present for everyone. I thought the second half, we played much stronger and everyone played better.

"I think part of our strength is definitely our flanks. The belief in the dressing room was always good."

The Mariners' performance was vastly improved after receiving criticism from Arnold in midweek after the sluggish 1-0 win over North Queensland.

Simon added: "We were pretty disappointed, the whole game (against Fury) was pretty flat.

"We knew it was a massive game for us tonight and the boys were up for it. We were in yesterday training, so it seemed to work well."

Central Coast's next match is at home to Melbourne Victory on New Year's Eve.