Bristol City will 'see what future brings' as Gerhard Struber offers Fally Mayulu assessment | Bristol Live

Gerhard Struber opted to hand Fally Mayulu his first league start for Bristol City since Boxing Day in the Robins' draw with Watford

Bristol City will "see what the future brings" after Fally Mayulu took a "good step" by returning to the Reds' starting line-up in their draw with Watford at Vicarage Road, Gerhard Struber has explained.

Mayulu started his first Championship match since Boxing Day last year as the Robins entered the November international break with a 1-1 draw against the Hornets on Friday evening. Scott Twine's sixth goal of the season, a brilliant free-kick, proved to be enough to cancel out Marc Bola's opener.

The Watford wideman opened the scoring after just six minutes when he brought down a chipped Imran Louza pass before calmly finishing past Radek Vitek. City appeared to find their footing in the game after falling behind, and Twine ensured they wouldn't leave Hertfordshire empty-handed when he curled in from the edge of the area before the half-hour mark.

Struber's decision to start Mayulu came as a surprise to supporters given the Frenchman's lack of football so far this term. Although the 23-year-old's impact on proceedings was limited, his head coach was pleased with aspects of his showing, having rewarded his hard work on the training ground.

"Fally, he trained with many, many, many investments the last few weeks," Struber told Bristol Live in his post-match press conference. "He invests a lot [in] the last few weeks in training sessions, and I think also, he deserved to be a starter today.

"We can see, of course, that he has [had] not so much game time in the legs the last few months, but also, he was important for us, how he brings his body in some moments, in a good direction. He saves us the ball sometimes, he creates space for Sincs; I think how they deal together was interesting to see, and could be also, in the future, a very interesting pair."

Mayulu joined City from Rapid Vienna last summer and had a difficult first season at Ashton Gate. The 23-year-old started just three Championship matches under Liam Manning and scored two goals in 15 total league appearances before he left BS3 on loan in January, returning to Austria with Sturm Graz.

His temporary spell on the continent didn't go as planned, with injuries limiting the Frenchman to a single start in the entirety of the second half of the Austrian Bundesliga campaign.

Since returning to south Bristol in the summer, Mayulu has served as Struber's third-choice centre-forward, with Emil Riis and Sinclair Armstrong seemingly the Robins boss' preferred options at the top end of the pitch. Prior to his start at Vicarage Road, the forward had only played 47 minutes of football in City's first 14 league games.

While Struber still feels there is room for the 23-year-old to grow and improve in the future, he insists that the Reds "should not dream" with Mayulu needing more regular minutes to continue his development.

"Of course, it's important he makes the step," the Austrian explained. "But we should not forget that he has, [in] the last few months, no rhythm [and] not the game time in the end to make these steps.

"He trained at the same time very, very hard [so] that he can perform on this level. We should not dream, but at the same time, today was a good step back in the starting 11.

"We will see what the future brings."