CITY'S rampant inconsistency reared its head again at the Riverside - though they were hardly helped by the officials.

Afonso Alves, the most unheralded of the Brazilians on show in the tundra of Teesside, scored the winner from the penalty spot after Daniel Sturridge had fouled David Wheater.

The foul appeared to be committed outside the box, and City's sense of injustice was only heightened by the fact that Boro's keeper Ross Turnbull turned in a man of the match performance as he became the first Premier League custodian this season to prevent City from scoring.

Blues boss Mark Hughes said: “We had some clear cut chances that we needed to take and were quick out of the traps in the second half and then the penalty went against us.

“I am sure the referee feels he has made the correct decision but I have seen it again and the Boro player first and foremost didn’t have full control of the ball and it was outside the box anyway."

Boro have been a pesky and painful thorn in the Blues side on their own ground for the past 30 years. In all that time City had managed just one victory and five months ago left the Riverside on the wrong end of a record 8-1 defeat.

Participated

It is a sign how quickly things have changed at Eastlands since that final, fateful and embarrassing day of Sven-Goran Eriksson's brief tenure that only two of the starting line-up that day - Richard Dunne, and Stevie Ireland - were handed shirts. What a pity the points total garnered remained the same!

Fans can take as read that the nine fresh starters, some of whom had been on the bench or participated as substitutes, knew all about the hurt of that barmy afternoon in May though City never looked in control enough to exact the best kind of revenge - a win.

For long periods City gave as good as they got and the home side's eventual hero Turnbull was first in action in the eight minute, plunging low to prevent Robinho adding to his Sunday treble and getting nearer to his self-proclaimed 30-goal season's target.

Not that City had exclusivity on chances with Nedum Onuoha forced into making a wonderful last ditch tackle on Afonso Alves when the Brazilian looked poised to pull the trigger from close to the six-yard box.

As if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Vincent Kompany produced something similar in the 27th minute to check the marauding run of Andrew Taylor and just to prove good things do come in threes, skipper Richard Dunne then halted Aliadiere in similar fashion deep into injury time.

Strength

The intricacy that had been the Blues' strength in the win over Stoke was a weakness in the opening 45 minutes though he decision to play Micah Richards at left-back hardly helped the balance of the side as he had to continually turn back and inside and was unable to overlap Robinho and so create more space for him.

City had a great chance to open the scoring in the first minute of the second-half when Sturridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips worked space for Stephen Ireland whose shot was parried by Turnbull and looked to be heading for Robinho until Elano took it off his countryman's toe and the chance was gone.

Turnbull was rapidly becoming Boro's star man and when Sturridge back-heeled into the path of Wright-Phillips, the keeper's trailing leg somehow kept the ball out.

Boro, having ridden their luck, then took the lead courtesy of an appalling decision by referee Mason who adjudged that Sturridge had brought down David Wheater in the box when replays clearly showed the initial contact to be outside. Alves scored from the spot.

City, though, could also blame themselves for not getting a point and should have drawn level in the 71st minute when Kompany's swerving shot was parried by Turnbull.

It fell to Sturridge just six yards out and the youngster could have squared it to Robinho or shot on his favoured left foot. He chose the latter and nearly hit the corner flag!

With the Blues committed forward in numbers, it was left to Gary O'Neil to put an unfair gloss on the final score four minutes into injury time with a second goal.

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