Watford Under-23s: Hayden Mullins hails goalscorer Michael Folivi after Crystal Palace draw

Folivi struck in the 67th minute – controlling on the edge of the box and curling into the top corner on his left foot – to peg back Palace after the Eagles had taken a 12th-minute lead.

Watford were good value for the draw and Mullins believes Folivi’s strike represented reward for the good work he has put in in recent weeks.

“Mike has looked bright in the couple of weeks and is scoring goals,” Mullins told the Watford website. “He looked a threat today and it was a fantastic goal, he took it really well.”

The manner in which the Golden Boys battled back from their early setback would have been particularly pleasing for Mullins.

He accepted that the first-half showing had not been faultless but was quick to highlight the manner in which Watford responded after the half-time interval.

“We gave a goal away in the first half which we feel was against the run of play and we spoke at half-time and said there was plenty left in the game for us,” he said.

“We just needed to believe and try and get back into it.

“We had moments and looked a threat on the counterattack. We looked like we could cause them problems. We felt it was coming and we made the point at half-time about keeping going.

“Even after we got the equaliser, we felt there was something else there for us.”

The result saw Watford finish a week in which they played twice with two points to their name after playing out a goalless draw with Charlton Athletic on Monday.

Mullins believes the results represent a positive return from games in which Watford could ultimately have picked up more points.

“We could have nicked the points at Charlton and today the point was probably a fair result. It’s two good results we can build on and then hopefully we can now kick on and win a couple,” the 39-year-old said.

“It was a strong all-round performance today and there are definitely some positives to build on.”