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Manchester City secured a slender win against Middlesbrough, thanks to the first half goal by Craig Bellamy. But, the real hero of the day was debutante goal keeper Shay Given.
A man of the match performance from new signing Shay Given helped Man City to secure a home win against the relegation battling Middlesbrough.
Bellamy's pace and "eye for the goal" disturbed the Boro defense, and he scored in the 18th minute. Stephen Ireland came close to scoring, he hit the woodwork.
Boro never looked threatening, their strategy was to defend, block and clear any ball, a four centre-back defense was placed just to do this. Southgate had been under pressure and this match will not help him either.
Afonso Alves was the only Boro player who tried something "adventurous" and had four shots on goal, all cleared by the impressive Shay Given. Given was rock solid at the back and deserved the clean sheet.
Written by Abhilash Manapatt
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