friendly match for Manchester City against Altrincham.

City romped to a 7-1 win at the Moss Lane ground of the non-League side in a match specially arranged to boost the Bermuda international striker's fitness.

And now Goater is expected to take his place on the bench when City play their next Premier League match, at Southampton, next Monday night.

The Dell, Southampton's compact stadium, has proved a happy hunting ground for Goater -- last season he scored twice there for City in the League Cup.

Although the Altrincham clash was a meaningless match, the two goals will have boosted the 30-year-old's confidence in a week when his chances of regaining his first-team place were helped by the departure of former World Footballer of the Year and fellow striker George Weah from Maine Road.

And the crucial thing for City's 29-goal top scorer of last season is that he completed the 90 minutes -- his third competitive game of the season since his comeback from a knee injury -- unscathed.

Goater was on the bench last Saturday, but did not come on during City's 2-0 home win against Bradford.

The Maine Road fans were chanting Goater's name during the match, but City manager Joe Royle explained afterwards that he did not give Goater a game because he was not yet match fit.

"Five minutes would be five minutes too long for Shaun at the moment,'' he said to emphasise the point.

But Goater's impressive showing in yesterday's friendly could earn the star Bermudian a top-flight debut earlier than even his manager had expected.