One of the smallest crowds in A-League history almost witnessed one of its biggest upsets as lowly Gold Coast threatened to overcome a week of off-field dramas to stun ladder leaders Central Coast at Skilled Park.

In the end, the Mariners saved face with two second-half goals to salvage a 3-3 draw and stay six points clear on the table.

Gold Coast's Mitch Cooper is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the team's third goal in the second half of the game against the Central Coast Mariners last night. Credit:Getty Images

Officials posted the match attendance as 1141, the smallest to watch the Gold Coast play.

The turnout was a few hundred more than the A-League's lowest crowd of 1003 which watched Brisbane play North Queensland when the clash was switched from Suncorp Stadium during the 2011 floods.