Goater netted a hat-trick for his country yesterday.

But at least City will be happy in the knowledge that their top scorer won't now be needed on international duty on the same weekend that they meet Charlton Athletic in a top-of-the-table clash.

City could certainly have done with the services of 23-goal Goater as they could only manage a 1-1 draw away to Crystal Palace on Saturday, their third straight draw. City missed the chance to open a gap on third-placed Ipswich who were surprisingly beaten 1-0 at home by Portsmouth while leaders Charlton opened a 10-point lead at the top of the First Division by winning 2-0 at Bolton.

City and Ipswich are level on points but City have a game in hand as well as a better goal difference.

Battling for one of the two automatic promotion places, City took the lead in the eighth minute through Robert Taylor before Crystal Palace equalised after 27 minutes.

Charlton took the opportunity to extend their lead by beating Bolton Wanderers, both goals coming in the last 10 minutes as the London side secured their 11th straight victory.

However, the good news for City is that the BFA aren't likely to seek Goater's release for the second leg match against the British Virgin Islands on March 19, the day after City play Charlton in a crucial promotion match.

Goater will return to City's team for Wednesday's match against Queens Park Rangers.

While City may have missed Goater, Stoke City certainly didn't miss Kyle Lightbourne in their match against Chesterfield which they won 5-1 with striker Peter Thorne netting four times. The win keeps Stoke in sixth place in the Second Division and in contention for a promotion play-off spot.

Shaun Goater: missed by Man City on Saturday.