Manchester, England (My Sportsbook) - Richard Dunne's 23rd-minute tally propelled Manchester City to its first win over Middlesbrough in 12 Premiership contests as the home side captured a 1-0 victory at City of Manchester Stadium on Monday.

Stuart Pearce's men entered the contest unbeaten in their first four home games and continued that streak courtesy of Dunne, who got the hosts on the board off a corner kick.

City dominated play in the first half, controlling the ball and continually pushing towards the opposing goal. They failed to generate many quality chances, however, but made the most of one of their nine corner kicks midway through the opening stanza.

Joey Barton served the ball into the six-yard box, where Dunne rose up between two Boro defenders and nodded the ball past a helpless Mark Schwarzer for a 1-0 lead.

Things did not get much better in the second half for the visitors as they appeared content to let the home side dominate possession. Boro played passively and tried to catch City with counter attacks. The tactics did not have much effect until the pace of play picked up in the final 10 minutes.

Massimo Maccarone was brought on as a substitute and generated the two best chances of the match for Boro. In the 84th minute, City seemed content with their 1-0 lead and was in all-out defend mode. Maccarone took advantage by dashing through the Manchester City back line and bringing down a long ball from midfield. The striker settled the ball and fired a left-footed strike off the near post, keeping City in front.

Five minutes later, the same scenario played out once again, and unfortunately for Boro, it ended in the same manor. Maccarone got on the other end of another long ball from the right flank, brought it down, and once again beat keeper Nicky Weaver. However, it caromed off the same near post and stayed out, preserving three points for City.

Manchester City's troubles with dual personalities continues, as they are unbeaten at home but struggle mightily on the road, as evidenced by their one point in five away contests.