Brazilian legend Romario's first A-League appearance in an Adelaide United shirt was not enough to stop his side losing 2-0 to the Central Coast Mariners.

Mariners attacker Adam Kwasnik netted the opener at Bluetongue Stadium in the 56th minute and Stewart Petrie doubled his side's lead three minutes later.

The result lifted the Mariners to outright fourth spot on the ladder, three points behind third-placed Adelaide.

The match would have taken a completely different shape had Romario not squandered a golden opportunity five minutes into the second half.

A defensive mix-up from the Mariners involving Michael Jedinak and Tony Vidmar put the Brazilian in the clear, but his killer instinct deserted him.

The former World Cup winner hesitated, then dinked the ball into Central Coast goalkeeper Danny Vukovics chest.

Soon after, Mariners midfielder Jamie McMaster crossed for Nik Mrdja, whose fierce header was superbly saved by Adelaide goalkeeper Robert Bajic.

Kwasnik reacted quickly to bury the rebound, atoning for a shocking miss in the first half.

Petrie added a second with a header at the back post from a deep Jedinak cross.

A South American flavour permeated the occasion, with Flamenco dancers and Samba drummers performing outside the stadium and at half-time.

A small pocket of Adelaide fans attended the match, armed with Romario banners.

Fans wearing Brazilian shirts were flecked throughout the stadium.

The Brazilian, on a mission to reach 1000 career goals, made the first of four guest appearances for the Reds in what is believed to be a $200,000 deal.

The former World Cup winner's first touch, six minutes in, was greeted by a cheer from the 13,119-strong crowd, a record for a Mariners regular season game.

The 40-year-old showed his age in the 18th minute when he was too slow to connect with a Jason Spagnuolo cross into the danger zone.

But he showed touches of class at times, including in the 24th minute with a flick that sent Spagnuolo down the left flank.

The Brazilian had a superb chance to score in the 29th minute when Travis Dodd rolled the ball across the face of goal.

He shaped for a tap in but was thwarted by desperate Mariners defending.

Romario hung on the halfway line when the opposition attacked and stood idly at times, conserving energy.

When his side attacked, he often checked back to receive the ball only for his team-mates to ignore him.

The star recruit's second-half performance was more lively but, with an eye on the next few weeks, Adelaide coach John Kosmina replaced him in the 80th minute.

Adelaide lacked pace up front with 18-year-old striking prodigy Nathan Burns on the bench, until he came on as a substitute in the 71st minute for Dodd.

Mrdja made his first start for the Mariners after more than year out with a knee injury and produced a solid performance, before being replaced after 74 minutes.

Romario brought colour to the Central Coast, but the first half lacked precisely that and was characterised by poor passing and sluggish play.

The Brazilian's shocking miss and two quick goals from the Mariners quickly livened up the second half.

The Mariners had the best chance of the first half from a counter attack.

Kwasnik found himself in a one-on-one with Bajic, after cutting in from the right wing.

The 23-year-old smashed his shot straight at Bajic, missing a golden opportunity.

He missed another gilt-edged chance on 70 minutes, with his side two goals ahead.

Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna was delighted that his side had reached an outright spot in the top four for the first time this season.

"Six out of our last seven games are at home," he said. "We've won three at home and drawn two, we've not lost a game here yet.

"We have to build on that and be confident we can go on with it."

McKinna added Romario hadn't had too much influence on his game.

"In saying that, he could have scored two goals. Fitness-wise, he was a bit behind the boys," he said.

Adelaide coach John Kosmina was pleased with Romario's contribution.

"He did quite well because he caused problems for people. Look at the positions he got himself into," he said.

"He copped a bit of a knock just before he came off, so I thought I'd save him from the last ten minutes."

Kosmina said his side played well enough to win the match.

"It was one of those games where we had the better of the opportunities and, had we taken one, we would have run away with the game."

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