After a dream start to their A-League life, Auckland FC now have to deal with their first real adversity in a maiden campaign that has them two points clear atop the table.
The Black Knights have showed their resilience to scramble a desperate 2-2 draw against Melbourne City across the Tasman, losing their winning streak, but retaining their unbeaten run, despite trailing for the first time this season.
They have also suffered their first significant injury, with outstanding defender Dan Hall seemingly set for a lengthy spell on the sideline with a broken ankle, suffered in the build-up to the Melbourne fixture.
"We'll see what we need from the doctor," said coach Steve Corica. "Really disappointing for him, because they were starting to talk about him for the national team as well.
"He just slid into a challenge at training, rolled his ankle and obviously there's a fracture there.
"Really disappointed, because we had to change the team as well. It happened pretty much the last training session and it's a big blow for us, but it's that mental effect for the players, knowing he's out."
Hall, 25, has previously helped Central Coast Mariners to back-to-back A-League championships and had emerged as one of the form defenders so far this season.
Corica was forced to shuffle his line-up, after losing Belgian midfielder Louis Verstraete to a back niggle and All Whites midfielder Cam Howieson to a calf strain. The former is expected back soon, but the latter will be several weeks away.
The gaffer also revealed goalkeeper Alex Paulsen, who produced five clean sheets to start the season, was suffering illness, a condition only exacerbated by the embarrassing miscue that put his team behind for the second time late in the match.
Defender Nando Pijnaker delivered a seemingly innocuous backpass that bobbled past Paulsen's foot and into the net, as the teammates stared at each other in disbelief.
"No excuses, we made a mistake and it cost us the goal," reflected Corica. "We probably could have cleared the ball, but Alex obviously took his eye off the ball and it went in.
"To be fair to Alex, he's been sick all week, so he's only trained once and it's been a tough week for him."
The cracks in Auckland's perfect start began to show against Wellington Phoenix last week, when a late Kosta Barbarouses goal shattered Paulsen's run of clean sheets, and a slow start against City threatened to end the fairytale once and for all.
Ultimately, they were probably unlucky not to win again, after a goal from Colombian midfielder Neyder Moreno was ruled out for offside.
"People didn't know what to expect once we did concede a goal," said Corica. "I think we've shown what we're about — never give up, never give in and fighting to the end.
"The boys got back into the game, and I'm really pleased with the performance and character, and the willingness to get back into the game and almost win it.
"Although the first half performance wasn't what we were expecting from our boys, they played much better in the second half."
The Black Knights hope to extend their unbeaten run against Western United on Saturday.
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