After going unbeaten to lead the league at Christmas, just a single win in their five most recent fixtures had seen Steve Corica's side slip to fourth entering Saturday, usurped by a City outfit unbeaten in seven despite an ongoing injury crisis.
Aurelio Vidmar's City had snapped Auckland's streak via a 2-2 draw last month and they looked to take control at Mount Smart Stadium this time by gobbling up most of the possession.
But they couldn't do much with it, their first shot on target not coming until the 92nd minute.
Carefully picking their moments to press and look to trap the visitors, Auckland were rewarded in the 32nd minute when they seized the ball at halfway and worked it forward for Guillermo May to rocket in the first goal from range.
Guillermo May delights home fans after scoring the opener. (Shane Wenzlick/AAP PHOTOS)
It was 2-0 in the 41st when City's failure to scramble away a Francis De Vries corner saw the ball fall first for Felipe Gallegos, who had his shot blocked, and then to Nando Pijnaker, who rifled a shot into the roof of the net.
The winning margin was then secured moments before halftime when City keeper Patrick Beach couldn't muscle past Logan Rogerson on the goal line and had his attempt to punch clear fall straight to Max Mata for a simple tap-in.
Beach produced some fine late saves to keep it to three but the hit to City's goal difference nonetheless saw them fall to third on the ladder.
There was a silver lining for City in the return of Mat Leckie, who got his first minutes since suffering a hamstring injury on November 10, coming on as a late substitute and almost giving his side a late consolation with a 92nd-minute header cleared off the line by Luis Toomey.
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