Fally Mayulu made his first Bristol City appearance in more than seven months as the Robins drew with Charlton AthleticFally Mayulu featured in Bristol City’s draw with Charlton(Image: Rogan/ Bristol City)

Bristol City cannot expect Fally Mayulu to be “ready for everything”, Gerhard Struber has explained, after the forward made his first competitive Bristol City appearance for more than seven months in the Robins’ draw with Charlton Athletic.

Mayulu was a second half substitute as the Reds were held to a 0-0 stalemate by Nathan Jones’ side on Saturday afternoon at Ashton Gate. City came closest to breaking the deadlock when Anis Mehmeti struck the crossbar early in the second half, but the Addicks very nearly stole all three points when George Tanner forced an impressive save from Radek Vitek, with the Manchester United loanee alert to prevent what would have been an own goal.

Having only played 45 minutes of football over the course of City’s summer friendly schedule, Mayulu was left out of the Robins’ matchday squad for both the opening day thrashing of Sheffield United and the Carabao Cup win over MK Dons.

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Although Struber insisted he was keen to have the striker involved “as soon as possible,” he admitted following the win at Bramall Lane that he felt the 23-year-old needed more time to reach the level required in the Championship after an injury-disrupted campaign last time out.

However, Mayulu was given the nod over Ephraim Yeboah in Saturday’s stalemate and was introduced, to a great reception from the home crowd, in place of Emil Riis for the final eight minutes in BS3. While the Frenchman contributed a couple of smart touches in his cameo, Struber is eager to manage expectations heading into the remainder of the campaign.

“He made the last few weeks, the steps that were necessary,” the head coach told Bristol Live when asked what Mayulu had done to return to the matchday squad. “At the same time, of course, when he jumped in, he must be stiff; he must be a player, he’s a player with safety balls, he’s a player we can have good full action about him.

“Of course, it’s good that he gets game time, but we can also not expect that with less minutes that he’ll jump in and now he’s ready for everything.

“We have to grow him and with him, but it’s good to see him on the field today.”

Both with and without Mayulu on the field, City struggled to break down Charlton’s backline throughout Saturday’s contest. The Robins’ only shot on target in the entire game was a tame Emil Riis effort that ended up straight down the throat of Tomas Kaminski in the Addicks’ net.

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Unlike previous games where the Reds have failed to take their chances in the final third, this was a case of them being unable to turn their possession, particularly in dangerous areas, into scoring opportunities. Rather than taking their time to find an opening, Struber felt his players tried to force their way through the away side’s block in a manner that played right into their hands.

“When you have in the end an opponent today that are so man-oriented, then you have to in the end always realise space and exploit the space,” the City boss explained. “I would say in some moments today, we try sometimes with the hammer too quick.

“I think you have to also be patient in this direction to drive them a little bit from one side to the other side, work for the space, and then you go with the knife between the teeth.

“I think today, this was not always connected, and not always so fluid like you have to be against an opponent with this energy and this man-orientation.

“This is something, of course, where we have to improve, and this is today, I would say, a good learning field.”

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