Striker Sam Cosgrove and winger Lachlan Brook continued their outstanding form with goals in the sixth and 73rd minutes respectively at Suncorp Stadium.
Auckland went to 24 points, six clear of the fourth-placed Roar, who remained on 18 points after being kept scoreless for a third straight game.
The gap at the top was five points until Sydney FC beat Macarthur on Saturday to close it to two.
Auckland had a dream start when English striker Cosgrove scored his fifth goal of the season in the sixth minute.
A curling corner by Francis De Vries was "chested" over the line by Cosgrove at the back post after a mix-up between Roar defender Hosine Bility and goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis.
There were suggestions the ball had hit Cosgrove on the arm, but it was cleared by VAR.
Deception down the left wing by Jesse Randall and a pinpoint cross was headed just over the bar by Cosgrove, who was a dominant physical presence up front.
A fingertip save by Bouzanis denied a fierce Cosgrove strike as the home side scrapped well to stay in the game.
A fierce run by Roar striker Justin Long and powerful shot just wide before halftime was their best chance of an equaliser.
Strong-running Randall and Cosgrove, who shot just wide after the break, started the second half on song.
Bouzanis parried a Randall shot away, while the Roar looked most dangerous when Sam Klein and Noah Maieroni took control in midfield.
Brook then stepped up with a scything run down the right, before cutting back and unleashing a swerving left-foot strike that Bouzanis could not stop from sliding inside the far post.
It was the fifth goal of the season for the 24-year-old, who is proving one of the signings of the season.
The Roar did not stop pressing and Auckland goalkeeper Michael Wood did well to deny strikes by Quinn MacNicol and Youstin Salas.
Auckland FC coach Steve Corica felt they could have done better in the first half, but overall was happy with his side’s performance.
"The good thing tonight is that we got the second goal which put the nail in the coffin.
"I think we could have won that by even three or four as we had a couple of other chances that we probably could have done better with."
— Melbourne City maintained their perfect record over the Wellington Phoenix in the women’s A-League.
The reigning premiers beat the Phoenix 2-1 at Porirua Park on Saturday to make it eight wins from eight over the Nix.
City led 2-0 at halftime after scoring both of their goals in a five-minute spell a third of the way into the first half.
New Phoenix signing Makala Woods, who made her debut as a halftime substitute, scored in the 90th minute to set up a frantic finish but it turned out to be a mere consolation.
Phoenix head coach Bev Priestman was disappointed with the performance, especially in the first half.
"I think we started the game poorly and from that it was an uphill battle.
"We made it difficult for ourselves.
"It was a great opportunity for the people who were on the pitch.
"We felt some of the personalities missing out there," she said.
"I really was happy by the end in terms of them stepping up, character [and] chasing the game.
"They gave it everything by the end but that’s two games where uncharacteristically we’ve conceded and at the edge of the box and that’s something we have to learn from."
— The Phoenix men spoiled Adelaide United’s chance to move into the top six of the A-League after catching their two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw in the capital yesterday.
The Reds picked up two goals in a one-sided first half before Phoenix centreback Isaac Hughes grabbed his first goal of the season when he nodded in a well-weighted Ramy Najjarine corner in the 57th minute.
Tim Payne’s cross was turned into the back of the net by Corban Piper for a 66th-minute equaliser.
— AAP/Allied Media
