Central Coast have let slip a golden opportunity to kick off the John Hutchinson era in style, drawing 2-2 with rivals Newcastle after scoring a second-half own goal.
Level at one apiece, Oli Lavale looked poised to be the F3 derby hero on Saturday night after converting a penalty kick in the 60th minute at Polytec Stadium.
But Lavale's dream start to the A-League Men season turned into a nightmare in the 78th minute when the 21-year-old striker failed to clear a corner kick and instead nudged it into the Mariners' net.
Ali Auglah had converted the first of two Central Coast penalties in the 11th minute to get the hosts going, before Jets recruit Patrick Wood equalised in the 49th.
Much-loved club legend Hutchinson at least avoids opening his ALM account with a defeat as he attempts to guide the Mariners back to the top of the table.
"We've got a good foundation there from today," Hutchinson said.
"Something we've been working really hard on ... is their belief in possession.
"I want to make them grow and believe in possession, but yeah, they get a massive pass mark today."
The Mariners finished ninth last season amid financial turmoil, with Warren Moon departing at the end of the campaign for personal reasons.
The men's future was assured in June when the owners of English football's Queens Park Rangers took over and the popular Hutchinson was soon lured back to the club he captained to their inaugural ALM championship in 2013.
Newcastle got their premiership defence underway after 13 players left in the off-season, among them star striker Lachie Rose (Dundee United), Clayton Taylor (Barnsley) and Eli Adams (Gamba Osaka).
Jets coach Mark Milligan admits his side weren't daring enough in attack.
"At the end of the day, I don't think we created enough to go and win," he said.
"Probably more frustratingly, we allowed them to get into areas where they have the opportunity to win penalties.
"On both occasions, we had multiple opportunities to stop it before it got to that point."
Mariners winger Auglah forced the door open when he brilliantly danced past Newcastle duo Daniel Wilmering and Xavier Bertoncello into the box, before drawing in Thomas Aquilina for the penalty.
Auglah had proved difficult for Wilmering and Bertoncello to contain, with the match reaching a flashpoint just before halftime when Max Burgess took matters into his own hands.
Burgess shoved Auglah to the ground just as the winger passed the ball, before remonstrating Wilmering and Bertoncello for simply letting the contest go by in front of them.
But Auglah didn't take kindly to Burgess's tackle, with the affair starting a team-wide spotfire in the 41st minute.
