The A-League side scored once in the first half and added another two goals in the second half before South Hobart's Ben Hamlett dragged a goal back in the closing stages, much to the delight of the home crowd of approximately 1000 people at Darcy Street.

Coghlan, who directed the side in the first half with seven Devonport players at his disposal, watched his side stretched at times by the Mariners, but also hold their own at various stages despite next to no preparation.

"I was so proud of the boys after the first 45 minutes," Coghlan said.

"To implement something on a whiteboard with no training sessions and then try to add to that on the fly to stop them building up and playing - I was so proud with how they adapted and how we managed the game.

"The first half we had seven Devonport guys so we tried to make it simple and have a like-for-like system so people could coach each other through the game.

"Having played 90 minutes on Saturday and a late night with the awards dinner, there were some heavy, tired legs out there, and we had to pull the emotional heart strings to get them to fight for their state and push through 45 minutes and they did that in abundance."

After the Mariners went ahead in the 11th minute through Jordan Murray, they had several more gilt-edged chances to increase their lead going into the break.

However they were constantly thwarted by Devonport goalkeeper Nathan Pitchford, who pulled off numerous spectacular saves.

"It wasn't bad, was it?" Coghlan said of Pitchford's performance.

"It shows why he is the state's number one and has been for a couple of years."

With Hobart Zebras coach David Smith taking over with a completely different team in the second half, Tasmania looked to press the Mariners more and impressed with some good link-up play.

But Central Coast showed its class to double the lead in the 66th minute when Ziggy Gordon latched on to an accurate cross for a simple tap in past Riverside's Jarrod Hill.

They scored again three minutes later when Michael McGlinchey's shot was unable to be stopped by Hill.

With their backs to the wall, Tasmania rallied and were rewarded in the 84th minute when Hamlett flicked on a cross from Adam Gorrie.

Mariners coach Alen Stajic said his side showed patches of good play but also praised the opposition.

"We were a little bit scrappy and disjointed at times, but there were some good passages of plays as well," he said.

"Tasmania were very competitive and the game was played in good spirits.

"The had some good players there and I'm sure they got a buzz out of playing against some A-League opposition."

Central Coast will round out their Tasmanian trip with a game against South Hobart on Tuesday night.