City beat Club America in a penalty shoot-out after an experienced side had put in an improved performance in the Aaron’s International Soccer Challenge game on Wednesday night.

The game ended at 1-1 after 90 minutes, with some players from both sides swapping shirts, not realising that they had to decide the match once and for all from 12 yards out! City kept their cool, with Shay Given making two saves before Patrick Vieira wrapped it up with a final penalty score of 4-1.

Earlier, Blues fans got their first glimpse of Yaya Toure since his signing over the summer, with the Ivorian joining brother Kolo in the starting eleven. The club captain was appearing for the first time on tour, as Gareth Barry, who had also jetted in to New York late last week. Shay Given was named on the bench, fit again three months after dislocating his shoulder against Arsenal.

There was a face from the past lining up against City for the Mexican side, Argentinean striker Matias Vuoso spent some time at City earlier in the decade without making much impact. The impressive Georgia Dome was far from full, but noise of the vuvuzelas, reverberating around the enclosed arena, made up for that and brought a touch of the recent World Cup to Georgia.

Yaya looked comfortable straight away, his commanding presence in midfield allowing SWP and Johnson the space to attack, with the latter whipping a curling shot over the bar after good work from the former in just the eighth minute.

It was mostly City until the 28th minute, the referee waving play on when he could have penalised Kompany for a foul but Daniel Montenegro took advantage and hit the post with a low shot that zipped past the static Joe Hart. The young English keeper was equal to the task when Beausejour ripped in a dipping shot shortly afterwards, but City hit back quickly and took the lead when Emmanuel Adebayor converted a penalty.

The spot kick came about when some typically nimble footwork from Adam Johnson confused a Club America defender, who bundled the winger to the ground. Adebayor ignored the noise and scored with ease, to great cheers from large parts of the crowd.

Roberto Mancini made a host of changes at half time, but within just two minutes of the restart, Club America had drawn level when Enrique Esqueda shook off Lescott and rolled the ball under the defender’s legs and past Given’s outstretched right hand.

Micah Richards was claiming that City should have had a second penalty just before the hour, but he was astonished to see the referee showing him a yellow card for what the official judged to be a dive – or ‘simulation’, to give its proper terminology!

Shay Given showed no ill-effects from his injury when he dropped smartly to his left to push away a fierce shot from Sanchez. Jo pressurized the defence and a deflection off the onrushing Brazilian saw the ball spin high towards the goal, but it landed on the roof of the net. Seconds later he broke through into the box, but it was a tight angle and the goalkeeper made a good block.

Montenegro hit the woodwork for the second time on 78, but Jo should have put City ahead again two minutes later. Ochoa could not hold a Weiss shot, but with a goal for the taking Jo could only put the ball back at the Mexican side’s goalkeeper from point-blank range. With just two minutes to go, Adebayor hit the bar from the six yard line, and Jo was inches away from getting a touch to a cross within seconds. Pardo grazed Given’s bar from a free kick at the other end as normal time came to an end.

Team: Hart (Given h-t); Richards (Cunningham 81), K Toure (Lescott h-t), Boyata, Bridge; Y Toure (Zabaleta h-t), Kompany (Vieira h-t), Barry (Ireland h-t); Wright-Phillips (Weiss h-t), Adebayor, A Johnson (Jo h-t)

Subs: Given, Onuoha, Zabaleta. Ireland, Garrido, Lescott, Vieira, Jo, Weiss, Mee, Cunningham.

Ochoa, Mosquera, Rojas, Valenzuela, Martinez, Montenegro, Sanchez, Pardo, Layun, Beausejour, Vuoso.

Subs: Sandoval, Esqueda, Navarette, Sanchez, Marquez, JC Silva, Lopez, Trevino, Corral.

Goals: 1-0 (Adebayor pen 36), 1-1 (Esqueda 47)

Penalties – 1-0 (Adebayor), 1-1 (Pardo), 2-1 (Jo), 2-1 (Mosquera miss, saved by Given to his right), 3-1 (Weiss), 3-1 (Montenegro, Given saved to left), 4-1 (Vieira).

Yellow cards: City – Richards (66)

Attendance: 33,721.

Referee: Mark Geiger