The battle for a promotion play-off spot between English Second Division teams Bristol City and Walsall is just as close as the scoring race between their top two strikers, Bermudians Shawn Goater and Kyle Lightbourne.

While Lightbourne's Walsall went down 2-0 away to Plymouth on Saturday, Goater netted twice for City in a 3-0 away win over relegation-threatened York which lifted them back into the play-off zone.

The double strike, along with with an 88th minute winner against Wrexham in midweek, takes Goater to 24 goals for the season, level with Lightbourne. City are now in sixth place while Walsall slipped to 10th, three points behind with three games remaining.

Goater scored the first and third goals on Saturday and helped create the second for Kevin Nugent. "It was a good result for us, it ended up being an easier game than we expected,'' Goater noted.

While proving one of the bargain buys of the season in the lower divisions following his 175,000 move from Rotherham last summer, Goater's job is not complete as promotion remains his and the club's main priority.

"It's in our hands, we have to win our remaining three games,'' he stressed yesterday.

City are home to Plymouth on Saturday before taking on FA Cup semi-finalists Chesterfield at home next Wednesday and then closing out their season against a Wycombe Wanderers side who are hovering just above the relegation zone.

"Wycombe have put on a good run of late, going something like five games and not having lost,'' said Goater. "In their second last game they beat Burnley 5-0 so we don't want to be going there and needing a win.'' The top two teams in the division gain automatic promotion while third through sixth place will be involved in the play-offs. They involve two initial home and away matches with the winners meeting at Wembley Stadium to decide who clinches the third promotion place.

"It's all premature right now because there is still a lot of work to be done at Bristol City,'' said Goater of the prospect of another appearance at Wembley.

City are the third highest scorers in the division and also have one of the best goal differences of the teams battling for a play-off spot.

"It's a good thing and it's something that the players have noted as well,'' said Goater.

A bad run in March resulted in manager Joe Jordan leaving his post by mutual consent after a board meeting. John Ward, a former manager of rivals Bristol Rovers, took up the post and is keeping the team on course for a return to the First Division.

"In March we got something like one win in five or six games,'' said Goater.

"That was a bad time for us and the board decided to have a change of manager.

"It's something we've had to deal with but players tend to see this throughout their careers and it's something you have to get on with.'' Goater would like to think he produced the goods for the outgoing manager and did not cause him to lose his job. "In some people's eyes he was looked on as being sacked, but I know I did what I had to do when I came here, so it was not a case where he could say `I brought a player and he really didn't produce for me'.'' Ward's arrival meant that the City players -- Goater included -- had to prove themselves all over again to the new manager.

"He has changed things slightly,'' Goater said of Ward. "He prefers the 5-3-2 formation while Jordan used the 4-4-2. He seems to pay more attention to the front players where I thought Joe Jordan (a former striker) would have but didn't.

"Right now things are working, the players are willing to play for him and they are happy about everything.''