United were downed by Robbie Fowler's second half brace, the former Liverpool star taking his first from open play and second neatly from the penalty spot.

The match, which was played in front of just 2,616 fans, was United's fifth loss of the season and leaves the club struggling to impress both on and off the pitch.

"We need to stick to together, I think we are learning about what it means to create a culture in the A-league," Thwaite said.

"Most of the teams have been around and they know how to handle big defeats, they know how to handle going one nil down, I think we are still learning that."

Speaking on the crowd cap decision, the well travelled defender thanked Gold Coast fans who turned up and urged more to come and support the men in yellow.

"For the guys who turned up, it was fantastic, even when we were 2-0 down they were screaming the house down, so it's a credit to them, we can only urge them to make the 5,000 (people) cap," he said.

Before the match, supporters held up signs in protest of the crowd cap and midway through the second half, after being restricted to just one stand, attempted to flee to their usual position behind the scoreboard end goal.

Back on the field, North Queensland marquee Fowler, who has now scored in his past three outings, was the stand out performer for the Fury, a side that was first demolished 5-0 back in August by a much slicker Gold Coast outfit.

"I think Robbie out-smarted us, when (Dyron) Daal came on, he dropped off into the midfield, he created another link between their midfield and attack," Thwaite said.

United's inability to complete the final pass restricted scoring opportunities all night, Gold Coast hardly stretching the Fury defence. Joel Porter's introduction in the second half provided some spark but that was over shadowed by Fury's second half run of play.

"I think in my opinion, our final ball was probably the case, we probably could have had a number of goals if our final pass or final shot was a lot better," Thwaite added.

"When we beat them (North Queensland) 5-0, everything was working in our final pass and that was the difference between the two teams."