The highlight was a thumping left-foot strike from just outside the box by charismatic midfielder Christian Theoharous in the 58th minute, which was the last score of the game.
Theoharous stopped, propped and fired his shot home before unleashing an assortment of backward somersaults to make an Olympic gymnast proud.
The Mariners cannot play finals but they at least gave their home fans something to cheer with their first ALM win in nine games.
Perth's main highlight was when veteran Josh Risdon came off the bench to become the club's most capped ALM player, with 157 appearances - one more than Andy Keogh.
The match started with Glory running with a strong wind at their backs but it did not help them in the early exchanges.
Mariners midfielder Alfie McCalmont sent a floating cross into the box and the Perth defenders appeared to misread the flight of the ball as it held up in the breeze.
Striker Alou Kuol got himself into the perfect position and his glancing header gave the hosts the lead after just five minutes. It was his fourth goal of the season.
The visitors hit back through Nick Pennington just five minutes later with a bullet header from a pinpoint corner by Jaylan Pearman.
Central Coast pushed forward with gusto and a surge by Mikael Doka into the box was rewarded.
Doka was brought down by Pearman, who had turned from hero to villain, and a penalty was rightly awarded. Doka calmly slotted his shot  into the bottom right corner for a 2-1 lead after 21 minutes.
Perth looked dangerous any time striker and skipper Adam Taggart was on the ball.
Taggart had played in the Socceroos' recent World Cup qualifier win over Indonesia but missed the trip to China with a groin strain.
The 31-year-old was sharp and had three shots on target in the first half alone, one of them requiring a strong reflex save by Dylan Peraic-Cullen, who was outstanding in goal.
Mariners midfielder Lucas Mauragis was in everything and was player of the match.
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