Bristol City boss Gary Johnson believes the fledgling partnership between new signing Alvaro Saborio and top-scorer Nicky Maynard can only get better.

Pitched together for the first time in Saturday's Championship clash against Coventry at the Ricoh Arena, the pair combined to salvage a 1-1 draw and a valuable point for the Robins.

And Johnson is convinced Costa Rican forward Saborio and record-signing Maynard will prove a real handful for defenders in the second tier as their partnership grows.

Handed his debut as a late replacement for Danny Haynes, who went down with tonsillitis shortly before kick-off, Saborio not only set up Maynard's sixth goal of the season, but produced a man-of-the-match performance which had his new manager purring.

"Alvaro gives us that international class, that something we have not had before," said Johnson.

"He still doesn't know much about us, but he made a very good first impression and he and Nicky showed signs that they can work together. Theirs is a fresh and very new relationship and it can only get better with time. They have all the attributes to cause big problems for Championship defences."

Saborio received a warm ovation from his team-mates when returning to the dressing room after the game and Johnson added: "The lads wanted him to know how much they appreciated his efforts.

"Alvaro is the one who holds the ball up for us and brings others into the game. He's a fighter and a competitor and we knew that when we signed him.

"But he also leaps like a gazelle and will definitely score from headers. I didn't know he could leap quite that high and I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw."

Signed on a season-long loan to provide competition for fellow forwards Maynard, Haynes, David Clarkson, Ivan Sproule and John Akinde, the Costa Rica international offers something different from Bristol City's other strikers.

Johnson explained: "Alvaro can link up play for us and bring others into the game as well as make and score goals.

"All of our strikers have different attributes, but he is the one we needed to complete the set."

After watching his side stage a spirited second-half fightback to cancel out Leon Best's 18th-minute opener for Coventry, Johnson agreed a draw was a fair result.

"They had the first half and we had the second," he said. "We didn't get our game going in the first 45 minutes and allowed them to build a spell of pressure. That's when the goal came and we knew we had to do better.

"I didn't want to change the shape or tactics, but I told them they needed to get further forward and to start finding the two strikers more often. They did that and we scored almost straight away.

"In the end we had chances to win the game but could not take them. But a draw was a fair result."

New signing Evander Sno also made his debut as a second-half substitute, while Bradley Orr announced his return to action after recovering from illness when replacing Brian Wilson at right wing-back after 65 minutes.

Johnson will now be hoping Haynes recovers in time to be considered for Bristol City's Anglo-Welsh showdown with Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow.