A-LEAGUE MAJOR SEMI-FINAL

IT MIGHT appear like mission impossible, but the Central Coast Mariners can draw on some encouraging history in their bid to overcome a 2-0 semi-final first-leg deficit.

Three years ago, the Mariners lost by the same margin against Newcastle Jets in the opening week of the finals before turning things around seven days later with a 3-0 extra-time win and the right to host that season's grand final.

Four players remain from that squad - Alex Wilkinson, Adam Kwasnik, Matt Simon and John Hutchinson - but, perhaps most crucially, the man who masterminded the comeback on that occasion, Lawrie McKinna, is still at the club.

Yesterday morning, just 12 hours after the Mariners were skittled by Brisbane Roar on their own turf, McKinna, now the club's football and commercial operations manager, was quick to make contact with Mariners coach Graham Arnold.

''I just told 'Arnie' that there's no need to panic, no need to rush in and do anything stupid - we're still very much alive in this tie but just as it was three years ago, we need to make sure we score the first goal,'' McKinna told the Herald yesterday. ''Leading into that game, I knew … that as long as we scored first … we were right back in it. And it wasn't just in the first 20 minutes, either. As long as you score in the first hour, it goes to 2-1 on aggregate and you've got half-an-hour to score. That's when the nerves start settling in and players start dropping too deep.

''If we can get it back to 2-1, it changes the dynamics of the occasion. The pressure will then hit Brisbane and, just as we did against Newcastle, if we keep plugging away, we might find that equalising goal.

''Back then, when we got the second goal, it meant we really had the momentum, and that's what got us through extra time.''

Central Coast emerged strongly in the opening 45 minutes on Saturday night but McKinna said he was worried when they went into the half-time break locked at 0-0. ''I just thought that in the first half, with the chances we had … we probably deserved [a] goal,'' he said. ''Brisbane have showed all year that they come back, they keep going and can play out 90 minutes. They've scored more goals late in games than anyone else.