Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Crystal Palace

Sam Allardyce is still seeking his first win as Crystal Palace boss after his former club Bolton Wanderers forced a replay against their Premier League opponents in the FA Cup third round.

Palace's Mathieu Flamini blazed a great chance over while Loic Remy hit a post against the League One hosts.

Bolton's James Henry was twice denied by Palace keeper Julian Speroni, 37.

Palace, losing finalists last season, had a lucky escape when Josh Vela headed against the post for Bolton.

Reaction from all of Saturday's FA Cup third round ties

It means another game for Palace, something Allardyce could do without as he battles to keep his side out of the Premier League's bottom three.

Where will Allardyce's first win come?

Allardyce, 62, played for and managed Bolton, steering Wanderers to a top-six Premier League finish and a place in Europe during his eight years in charge between 1999 and 2007.

It was no surprise he received a warm reception from home fans as he took his place in the dugout before enduring an uncomfortable 90 minutes.

Julian Speroni joined Crystal Palace in the summer of 2004

Palace, who have drawn two and lost two of their first four games since the former England manager took charge, did enough to avoid an upset and might even have nicked it.

Remy, on loan from Chelsea, was their most threatening player before the break.

As well as being denied by the woodwork, the France international forced two fine saves from Ben Alnwick before being replaced by Yohan Cabaye at the start of the second half.

Speroni was making his 389th appearance for Palace, a club record, and he was required as Bolton threatened an upset through the industrious Henry and Gary Madine.

Bolton on the up under Parkinson

Bolton were a top-flight club as recently as 2012 but the past five years have been bleak - financial problems coupled with relegation to the third tier.

Yet there are signs they are finally heading back in the right direction under manager Phil Parkinson.

Third in the league with games in hand over both teams above them, Bolton offered further evidence in this entertaining tie that they are a well organised unit as they came close to causing an upset.

Henry, on loan from Wolves, could have had a hat-trick inside the first 20 minutes alone. Madine and Vela also caused panic in the Palace defence.

Bolton's main aim this season is to win promotion back to the Championship yet Parkinson and his players certainly will not be ruling out making further progress in the FA Cup.

'I want us to get better'

Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce: "We're still in the hat. Parky's side gave us a real good game. I want us to get better - I wouldn't say I was satisfied with what I saw.

"We haven't kept a clean sheet for a while at this club, so we've got that.

"I changed the team about and that can disrupt things a bit. It was a tough game and we had to battle it out."

Bolton boss Phil Parkinson: "When the draw came out we thought it would be interesting to see how we could acquit ourselves against Premier League opposition and we didn't look out of place.

"It was a good team performance and it was a shame we couldn't have found that moment to win the game."