That's not to say they will be nearly content, though. After Ben Waine had again scored a second-half opener, the Phoenix immediately lost that lead in a poor five-minute period.
Their defence was found deficient for both Central Coast goals and it appeared as though that passivity would cost all three points.
But with two minutes remaining, Paul Ayongo couldn't repel Nicholas Pennington's corner at the near post, succeeding only in nodding the ball past his own goalkeeper.
Phoenix captain Oli Sail acknowledged his side's fortune in escaping with a draw, a result that on full reflection of the match he felt was fair.
"We probably had the better chances but the two goals we conceded were very soft," Sail told Sky Sport. "We'll take it given we got a bit lucky there at the end."
Central Coast, conversely, would have felt luck was against them after having an opening goal chalked off through offside and seeing a penalty shout for handball go ignored.
Jason Cummings thought he had put the visitors ahead with a bicycle kick towards the end of the first half, but the VAR intervened and spotted the striker barely offside before his acrobatic finish.
The Phoenix otherwise enjoyed more of the positive play in the opening spell, though the final pass or finish too often went astray. Kosta Barbarouses had the best chance of the half but saw his stinging effort smartly palmed over by Danny Vukovic after good work down the left by Polish forward Oskar Zawada.
In the second half, it was Wellington's turn to have a goal chalked off, with Waine having made his run just too early as he collected Zawada's flick on and fired home.
But Waine wasn't to be denied for long, meeting a perfect through ball from Steven Ugarkovic and finishing with a brilliant lob over the onrushing Vukovic.
Unfortunately for the Phoenix, that lead was short-lived, as the Mariners were gifted far too much time and space on the ball. First Samuel Silvera was allowed to advance to the edge of the box and unleash an emphatic strike, then Cummings matched Waine with a fine finish over Sail.
"To let their left-sided winger dribble 30 metres inside and shoot from 18 yards out is very poor," Sail said. "Then we gave away the ball for the second goal in their half and left ourselves exposed on the transition."
The Phoenix had time to chase an equaliser but it was Ayongo who made the decisive contribution, leaving neither side looking particularly pleased with their afternoon's efforts.
Wellington Phoenix 2 (Ben Waine 57, Paul Ayongo 88 og)
Central Coast Mariners 2 (Samuel Silvera 59, Jason Cummings 64)
Halftime: 0-0
