grep can do what you're trying to accomplish. Consider the following:

#! /usr/bin/perl

use strict ;
use warnings ;
$|++ ;

my @array = qw( foo bar match zoot zoot match match match ) ;
my $item  = 'match' ;

print "Original size: " .  @array . "\n" ;
print "Original contents: " . join( " : ", @array ) . "\n\n" ;

my @new_array = grep { ! /^$item$/ } @array ;

print "New size: " .  @new_array . "\n" ;
print "New contents: " . join( " : ", @new_array ) . "\n\n" ;

__END__
[download]

Results:

Original size: 8
Original contents: foo : bar : match : zoot : zoot : match : match : m
+atch

New size: 4
New contents: foo : bar : zoot : zoot
[download]

Update: Whoops, was doing the exact opposite of the poster's question. All better now.
_______________
DamnDirtyApe

Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity. Those who
would like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity.
            --Friedrich Nietzsche