Mulvey smells blood against embattled Roar

They've finally had a win but Central Coast remain hungry as they eye the wounded Brisbane Roar in Sunday's battle of the A-League cellar dwellers.

The bottom-placed Mariners broke a 327-day, 19-game winless streak with a last-gasp defeat of Melbourne City on Wednesday night.

The Roar are attempting to snap a nine-game winless streak of their own, with head coach John Aloisi's sudden exit late last year compounded on Friday by the departure of his brother and assistant Ross.

The Mariners can heap on the misery and move ahead of the Roar - and off the bottom of the ladder - with a win on Sunday.

Not content with his side's midweek breakthrough, coach Mike Mulvey can smell blood.

"For eight or 10 weeks we've talked about believing and persevering," he said.

"We've shown that in spades, we've had a bit of a kill, now need to prove we can go on and do it again.

"We've got to go on with it, because otherwise what's the point."

Mulvey credited captain Matt Simon's impact since re-joining the club this season, with the striker drilling home the winner after his penalty shot was saved in the dying moments of Wednesday's match.

"Matt is a driving force; we brought him back to this club to provide leadership on field as well as off field," Mulvey said.

"You've got to have a good pair to get up and take a penalty in the last couple of minutes and he did that. All power to him."

The Roar were overrun in a record 5-0 loss to Melbourne Victory on Tuesday night.

But wins in their last five trips to Central Coast Stadium, and a 13-match unbeaten streak against the Mariners, will give them confidence.

Experienced quartet Matt McKay, Jack Hingert, Tobias Mikkelsen and Jacob Pepper all return for the Roar after missing Tuesday's loss.