Seamus Ryder forced an early corner, and Regan Coldicott almost perfectly timed a typical run on to a good through ball from Victor Da Costa.
Then Jude Fitzpatrick got a head to an Otago free kick that went close and, from midfield, Scott Gannon clipped a long shot that showed positive mental attitude.
Spliced between those Otago attacks, however, Manuel Exposito showed his versatility with a gymnastic overhead kick that keeper Liam Little had well covered. But Little was a spectator when Auckland opened the scoring after 17 minutes, as Exposito and Pedro Garcia interchanged to go past Otago defenders. Andrew Milne then had a close-range tap-in for 1-0.
Otago coach Richard Murray showed concern when captain Aaron Burgess went down injured, but the striker responded to treatment.
More Auckland pressure paid off as Otago failed to clear a skirmish in its goal area and, from the resultant free kick, a deflected shot claimed by Exposito made it 2-0 after 20 minutes.
In retaliation, Otago mounted extended pressure on Auckland, starting with a well-flighted corner by Aajay Cunningham, then a similar corner by Scott Gannon had Burgess shoot over the crossbar.
Tails up, Otago chased everything and Da Costa overhauled an overhit pass, then managed to square the ball for Coldicott to pounce and shoot Otago back into contention with a 2-1 scoreline after 37 minutes.
Da Costa then frightened Auckland with a raging long-range shot that cannoned off the home side's crossbar. As halftime approached, it was Da Costa again who hammered over a low cross that scraped by the boots of Burgess and Sam Mepham with the Auckland goal wide open.
The second half started with Little's long legs denying Exposito, and in rapid succession Otago made last-ditch clearances from its goal area.
Coldicott showed threat with a breakaway that was snuffed out, but gave warning to the star Auckland side.
Referee John Rowberry then penalised a tackle on the flying Coldicott, issuing a yellow card to Auckland defender Simon Arms. At the other end, some scrappy defending produced chaos in the Otago goalmouth, and substitute Adam Dickinson scrambled in a 66th-minute goal for Auckland that barely trundled over the goal line for 3-1.
In a flurry of activity, Murray brought on fresh legs with Morgan Day for Da Costa, Andrew Ridden for Burgess and referee Rowberry had to intervene with a yellow card when Garcia swung at Cunningham. In a final fling, coach Murray brought on James Govan for Coldicott with five minutes to go, but the score remained 3-1 at fulltime.
The general opinion was that Otago was far from disgraced. United stuck to an effective, disciplined shape that belied the team's weakened status with four first-choice players absent.
''We had a couple of good spells of pressure that might have produced more goals, and the team we fielded gave everything they had,'' Murray said.
There were some surprising results in other games played the league. Goals flowed when Waitakere hammered Waikato 9-1, Hawkes Bay beat Manawatu 5-1, and Wellington shocked Canterbury 2-0 in Christchurch.
Wellington moved up to nine points, with a game in hand, six points behind Canterbury, which still holds fourth place.
Otago plays Canterbury next Sunday, at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
ASB Premiership
The scores
Auckland City 3
Andrew Milne, Manuel Exposito, Adam Dickinson
Otago United 1
Regan Coldicott
Halftime: Auckland 2-1.
