The other player who earned his starting position was teenager Ross Willox despite a howler in the middle of the field when his feeble attempt at controlling a throw-in led to a concerted raid from the hosts.
The only shot at the target from Bay United worth talking about came from substitute striker Angus Kilkolly in the 79th minute, 10 minutes after he replaced Sam Mason-Smith who, like Ben Everson, looked out at sea.
"It was the only 100 per cent chance we had," Kilkolly said, revealing he had given himself a fair chance to drill the ball past City goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai Goni as he surged into the area with a defender breathing down his neck.
On reflection, though, Kilkolly should make allowances that Goni is a professional keeper from Spain and had stymied his shot with calculated anticipation although no striker should let that stub their resolve.
Kilkolly said the live coverage on SkySport showed the quality of the keeper as well as his execution although all that did not detract from the fact that it was "a key moment for us".
Two minutes earlier Goni had rifled a clearance kick like a bullet to Kilkolly's head, the striker going down like a disorientated deer in the wilderness.
Did that affect him at all?
"I was trying to close him down and turned my back thinking he was just going to clear it over me but he kicked it into the my head," said Kilkolly with a laugh, momentarily contemplatingwhether he should get up and chase the ball or just allow himself some time to find his bearings.
He chose to regather but recovered quickly enough to launch the attack that could have yielded the equaliser but it was not to be.
Kilkolly said it was frustrating to have conceded the goal, considering they had worked on their defensive systems with coach Brett Angell all week.
"We tried to prepare as best as we could," he said, but agreed the slow uptake was reminiscent of sluggish starts for Bay United in their previous two or three games.
"We got a wake-up call," Kilkolly said but felt fans couldn't fault their effort.
"We're not conceding awful [number] of goals but we're also not scoring many."
That is a fair assumption and one Auckland City coach Ramon Tribulietx would be expecting his troops to mull over even though, it seemed, the hosts did the minimum required, including taking off Lea'alafa in the second half, to avoid risking injuries before jetting off to Japan for the Fifa Club World Cup today.
Auckland City should have put away a few more goals but keeper Hill was again keeping the opposition at bay, as he had done against Canterbury United the previous weekend in the 1-alldraw.
City's strikers will need to be much sharper on the international stage in the next few weeks.
South African-born Ryan de Vries and Portuguese Joao Moreira looked undercooked and if they fail to fire City will be back home pretty smart.
Committing professional fouls to collect a rash of yellow cards, as they did on Saturday against Bay United, won't be an escape clause in Japan.
It seemed as if Bay United took too long to adapt to the furious pace and accurate passing game of the Blues.
At times they sat too deep and chased shadows, giving speedy City players too much room on the flanks to infiltrate with ease.
It was evident in the misdirected passes in the final third as well as seasoned campaigners such as Saul Halpin losing possession through unforced errors when composure and spontaneity were essential in manufacturing shots at goal.
There's no need to reach for the panic button just yet because they have played some top teams in the premiership but some urgency and a killer instinct before Christmas will help in securing a top-four position.
