After watching Central Coast Mariners throw away a slender lead the week before, many at Bluetongue Stadium must have wondered how their team could get things right against Perth Glory on Friday night - and the loss of goalkeeper, Mark Bosnich, after only five minutes must surely have unnerved them a little.
Bosnich indicated to his bench that he had a problem with his left leg and could not continue, necessitating the introduction of rookie Andrew Redmayne off the bench as a quick replacement, without even time to do a pre-match warm-up.
Redmayne, on debut, did all that was asked of him and was instrumental in providing the necessary security that led to a comfortable 4-1 win over a somewhat incoherent Perth side.
Glory import, Eugene Dadi, showed many touches of individual flair and brilliance, but faded in the second half as he and Nikita Rukavytsya failed to form a constructive partnership.
Instead, it was a fast ninth minute break through the insight of Mariners' midfielder, Adrian Caceras, which put Saso Petrovski in behind the Glory defence - evading a potentially suicidal challenge from Jason Petkovic, before getting the ball over the line at the second attempt, after first smashing a shot against the left hand upright.
Had Petkovic brought down Petrovski it would have been a certain red card and penalty.
This early ice-breaker gave extra confidence to a home side that almost doubled its lead three minutes later when Brad Porter sent in one of his now familiar diagonal crosses for Matt Simon, only for the youngster to loop his header wide.
Dadi probably should done better in the 20th minute when Scott Bulloch cut the ball back from the left by-line. Rukavytsya could not connect with a header at the near post, but then Dadi was unable to latch onto the ball, either, further along the goalmouth.
Then, a foul from David Tarka presented the Mariners with a free kick 30 yards out.
Mile Jedinak, who was later to leave the scene with a badly gashed head after an aerial clash with James Robinson, struck a superb and characteristic dead ball shot over the wall and into the top right corner of the net beyond the grasp of Petkovic, who did not have a particularly good game on this occasion, it must be said.
The free kick gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead and it allowed them to dictate the tempo for the rest of the match.
By the 41st minute the home team was 3-0 up and chances of a last minute loss of points as happened the previous week was becoming more and more remote.
Caceras, who is beginning to find his Central Coast feet after being handed starts in the team's two latest games, got on the scoresheet after a frustrating time against his former club Melbourne a week earlier.
He somehow saw daylight between two Perth defenders and when the gap opened up he strode through and steered a low drive beyond the exposed Petkovic and in at the left hand upright - from a position on the right about 12 yards out.
While the second half produced a goal apiece and Perth could point to a much improved performance, in truth Central Coast was never troubled.
The misses by Dadi and his attacking partners meant the Mariners survived any moments of true anxiety early in the game and punished Perth for them mercilessly.
Bulloch fired over the bar five minutes into the second half and Pellegrino shot wide of the right post, at the hour mark, before Wayne Srhoj, playing wide and deep, got forward in the 63rd minute and then in behind the Mariners' defence on the right.
By this stage Jedinak had left the scene with that gaping gash on his forehead which required stitches and Andrew Clark had stepped in to fill his shoes.
As Srhoj sent over a telling cross Clark was ready, but so was Rukavytsya, who just got his foot to the ball ahead of the Central Coast veteran defender to bring the score to 3-1 and a present a slight chance for Glory to claw their way back.
But such hopes were dashed almost immediately as Perth failed to unify or focus fast enough.
A swift interchange of passes between Matt Simon and Matthew Osman resulted in the latter angling a fine low shot from a position wide on the right, across Petkovic and in at the far post.
Simon had been a constant thorn in Perth's side.
Perth continued to miss chances, however, Dadi volleying over the bar in the 80th from a nice ball in by Robinson, who was one of the positives for Perth.
Osman also nodded just wide for the Mariners four minutes later as the match lost much interest for the visitors.
The absence of Amaral is still keenly felt and with some players apparently playing out of position that, too, is doing Perth few favours.
Pellegrino however toiled long and hard all evening and can hold his head high.
As for the Mariners it was yet another win over the West Australians who have not looked at all impressive on any of their Gosford visits since the Hyundai A-League began.
After the game David Mitchell tried to put a brave face on it, saying his team had looked good until conceding the first couple of goals.
"I thought it was a fair tackle (by Tarka) and should not have been a free kick for goal number two. Having said that, the boy took it well", he said
"We put in more effort in the second half and recovered some ground but we now have a very hard game against Melbourne coming up and we have to pick ourselves up again."
Better composure (and understanding among the strikers) in front of goal and Perth might have done better.
Bosnich had looked forlorn when leaving the field with a serious hamstring injury but played down the extent of his woes that had many of the media scribes suggesting not only his Mariners' stint was over, but that his career options might now have closed once and for all.
"It's just a hiccup," he said. "I don't think it's that serious."
"I've been training very hard and I've had a fantastic spell so far. I want it to continue.
When Bosnich's replacement, Andrew Redmayne, looked in trouble too, after having already played a full National Youth League game earlier, Central Coast coach, Lawrie McKinna, had something to offer.
"I never knew goalkeepers got cramp!", he quipped
"We deservedly got those three first half goals and we'll have to see what the scans (on the Bosnich hamstring) show us. We have four keepers at the club and even Matthew Nash has a hand injury. We don't get Danny Vukovic back for another two games of course."
Perhaps the big question was, did Central Coast win the game or did Perth lose it? The Mariners have certainly played better and were allowed some space by Perth that Melbourne never gave them.
Glory probably has more to worry about now than most teams in the A-League, though Eugene Dadi continues to be a class act. If Amaral recovers soon, Adrian Trinidad rediscovers his form and the pair can combine better with Rukavytsya, Perth may yet make an impact.
Expect the Mariners to go on with the job now assuming they have a fit goalkeeper and Jedinak can overcome his temporary facial injury.
Thankfully it was only a deep cut and no concussion was involved.