Manchester City scored at the City of Manchester Stadium for the first time in 227 days in their 1-0 victory over newly promoted Derby County on Wednesday.  A 43rd minute strike by 19-year old Michael Johnson ended the long wait of a home goal for Manchester City fans as manager Sven Goran Eriksson maintained his 100 percent start to the new Premiership season. Kasper Schmeichel put up yet another impressive performance in the goal, making two brilliant saves as City held on to their one goal lead over Derby.

While the overall performance might not be as polished as the 2-0 victory over West Ham on the opening day of the season, the victory is sure to lift City fans who now believe that their team can qualify for Europe this time, even though the season is just 2 games old.

Admittedly Derby were the better team in the first half as they created more chances than the hosts and should have ended the half with at least one goal against their name. Stephen Pearson had the best chance for Derby as he lost his marker to meet a superb pass by Steve Howard but was denied by Schmeichel who raced off his lines to clear the ball in time.

Just when it looked like both the teams will be heading into the break scoreless, Johnson struck with his first senior goal for the club. Taking control of the ball near the half line, Johnson played a brilliant passing game with Stephen Ireland and Elano before smashing the ball into the top corner of the net.

Having taken the lead, City came out strong in the second half, with Rolando Bianchi, Elano and Stephen Ireland all testing the Rams keeper Stephen Bywater. At the other end, Derby went very close to securing an equalizer but were denied both times by some brilliant keeping by Schmeichel.

Eriksson will be looking to extend his winning streak when his team meets city rivals Manchester United on Sunday while Derby will be looking for its first Premiership victory since 2002 when it faces Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. You can watch Premiership matches live here on free-football.tv.