It was only intervention from the video assistant referee that saved the Black Knights, as it was found fellow Glory winger Trent Ostler was offside at the time of the goal.
Just over 20 minutes later, though, there would be no saving Auckland.
After a thwarted clearance from Tommy Smith down the Black Knights’ right ended up back in Perth’s possession, a first-time shot from outside the area by Perman was too much for Paulsen, beating the All Whites keeper’s dive to rifle into the back of the net and leave Auckland FC with everything to do.
Things could have been worse for Auckland before halftime were it not for a double save from Paulsen, denying a cross from Carluccio, before a follow-up effort from another ex-Phoenix player, Nicholas Pennington.
The end of the first half did see another blow for Auckland, as captain Hiroki Sakai was forced from the field after a failed concussion test when he was hit in the head by a shot from Zach Lisolajski, and replaced by Callan Elliot.
Concussion protocols could now see Auckland without their skipper for their next match, against leaders Melbourne City.
On the hour mark, Auckland had their first effort of significance when Elliot’s cross found the head of Max Mata, only for a fine diving save from Sail before play was stopped for a push.
Less than a minute later, Auckland were in again as Guillermo May was denied by Sail, after a well-worked attack down the left from Logan Rogerson.
Auckland had another chance not long after, as the Glory defence was left scrambling by a ball driven into the area by Jake Brimmer. But Sail got to the ball at the first time of asking, before a Rogerson attempt was blocked by defender Josh Risdon.
Another Rogerson effort, a cross from the right wing, should have seen Auckland FC restore parity, only for Mata to sky his effort over the bar.
Perth resisted any further attempts and even found a couple of chances at their own, as Paulsen was forced to keep out striker Adam Taggart, before May forced another acrobatic effort from Sail after the 90-minute mark.
With fulltime minutes away, Auckland’s luck went from bad to worse when debutant Adama Coulibaly was shown a red card off the bench after he brought down Joel Anasmo when he was clean through on goal, as a cynical foul by the last defender.
The result sees Auckland FC third on the ladder, a point behind Melbourne City in first, although both the Black Knights and second-placed Adelaide United have played one game less.
While beaten, Auckland FC will at the very least get the chance to reclaim the top spot next Saturday night when they host Melbourne City at Go Media Stadium.
Perth Glory 1 (Pearman 29′)
Auckland FC 0
Halftime 1-0
Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
