Dylan Wenzel-Halls came off the bench to score 12 minutes from time to give John Aloisi's side all three points.

Having opened the campaign with a 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory, United came into this match on a nine-game losing streak, the third-worst such run in A-League history.

Perth, which left striker Daniel Sturridge out of the squad, had gone nine consecutive away matches without a win and lost in a 5-4 thriller in this same fixture last season.

Chances were scarce in the first half, although Brad Jones had to scramble to keep out an audacious effort from Alessandro Diamanti from inside his own half.

Jamie Young made a good save to deny Bruno Fornaroli and Pacifique Niyongabire also missed a good chance, and the visitors were punished for their profligacy.

Connor Pain's run to the byline and cross saw the ball come back off the inside of the far post, giving former Brisbane Roar forward Wenzel-Halls the simplest of finishes for his first United goal.