City are just one win from an appearance at Wembley Stadium after their 1-1 draw at Wigan in the first leg of the Division Two play-off semi-finals.

The home leg for City will be played at Maine Road on Wednesday and roared on by a crowd of 32,000 they will be favourites to get through to the final at England's national stadium, with promotion to Division One at stake.

Goater, who has scored 20 goals for City this season, recovered from a hamstring injury to reclaim his place in the starting line-up at Wigan on Saturday.

But things could not have started worse for the visitors as Wigan a defensive mix-up handed Wigan the lead after 20 seconds.

Hesitation by City's Dutch defender Gerard Wiekens and goalkeeper Nick Weaver let in former Everton striker Stuart Barlow, who put Athletic in front.

The equaliser finally arrived in the 77th minute, a crisp finish by Goater's striking partner Paul Dickov from a cross by Michael Brown. Goater was substituted six minutes later.

In the other semi-final, Gillingham earned a 1-1 draw at Preston. The final will be played on May 30.

Bolton and Watford both gained slender advantages after the first legs of the First Division play-offs.

Bolton, looking to make an immediate return to the Premier League after being relegated last season, beat Ipswich 1-0 at home with a thunderbolt shot from Dane Michael Johanson six minutes from time.

Watford, seeking their second successive promotion after winning the Division Two last season, also won 1-0 at home, beating Birmingham City with a fifth minute header from Michel Ngonge. But Watford finished the match with only 10 men after Paul Robinson was sent off 14 minutes from time.

Ipswich play Bolton in the second leg at Portman Road on Wednesday, while Birmingham host Watford at St Andrews' on Thursday.

In the third division, Leyton Orient drew 0-0 with Rotherham while Swansea beat Scunthorpe United 1-0 at home.

Southampton manager Dave Jones claimed his team had matched Manchester United's title-winning achievement by preserving their Premier League status with a 2-0 victory over Everton yesterday.

The win left Southampton five points clear of Charlton Athletic, beaten 1-0 by Sheffield Wednesday and relegated along with Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest.

Southampton are planning to move to a 30 million ($48.68 million) stadium in two years' time and the drop into Division One would have ruined fund-raising for the 30,000-seater ground.

"We felt like we had won the Premier League title today because we are still in it (Premier League),'' Jones said.

The triumph was a major boost for Jones who has suffered two family bereavements recently. The latest was the death of his brother-in-law in a train accident last week.

"We are very close as a family and maybe this will be a lift for them because it's been an horrendous week and I didn't want a further tragedy and going out of the Premiership would have been a big jolt to my system,'' added Jones.

Southampton secured safety through two Marian Pahars goals. The Latvian international struck in the 24th minute with a powerful shot from just inside the box. He sealed victory with a diving near-post header from James Beattie's low cross in the 68th minute.