LOOKING UP AS EAGLES ARE HELD
Trotters will go again in a replay
BOLTON boss Phil Parkinson believes his side have set the benchmark for their assault on League One promotion after forcing an FA Cup third-round replay against Premier League Crystal Palace.
He said: “I was frustrated by the way we played in the second half, and a little bit disappointed that we didn’t take the chances.
“We got a clean sheet, and I got to see a lot of players for the first time.
“We’re still in the hat, and it was a tough game, in fairness to Parky and his team.
“That was Remy’s first 45 minutes of the season – it’s a preseason in the middle of a season for him.
“He obviously wants to play more, but we can’t afford him to get injured again. We saw a few flashes to excite us when he gets match fit again.”
Vela was next to hit the woodwork on 63 minutes, his firm header from Lawrie Wilson’s cross beat Speroni, but couldn’t beat the same post Remy had struck earlier.
Substitute Jamie Proctor nearly made an instant impact for Bolton with eight minutes to go, but his header lost power and was collected by Speroni.
Former Bolton boss Sam Allardyce admitted he was left frustrated by the lack of clinical finishing from his Palace side, and admitted the dangerouslooking Remy was withdrawn at half-time as part of his comeback from injury.
The Premier League side began to increase the pressure, with Campbell and Remy combining for the latter, on loan from Chelsea, to smash his stike against the left-hand post on 34 minutes.
Minutes later, Remy tested Alnwick, but the 30-year-old stopper saved with his legs.
Bolton were always ready to hit their visitors on the counter and Henry had a glorius opportunity five minutes after half-time, when Andrew Taylor floated in a teasing cross. But the 27-year-old side-footed his volley over the bar to the despair of the home fans. three goals on another day, but he always make us chances.”
Henry shrugged off two Palace defenders inside nine minutes and drove at goal, only for Julian Speroni to beat away his fierce drive.
Palace debutant Loic Remy was first to test Bolton’s Ben Alnwick after 20 minutes, but his well-struck effort was straight at the former Tottenham keeper.
Ex-Arsenal man Mathieu Flamini then missed a glorious chance to open the scoring for visitors Palace ten minutes later, lifting the ball over from 12 yards after Fraizer Campbell’s mazy run.
The Trotters had a number of chances through Wolves loanee James Henry – who signed on for the rest of the season on Friday – as well Josh Vela’s header which struck a post.
Parkinson, who was full of praise for Henry, insists he will pick a side to win the replay, and believes Bolton more than matched their Premier League rivals.
“This game showed us that we’ve got good young players in the squad and I was interested to see how they would do in Premier League company,” he said.
“It’s a good benchmark for us as a squad, but we’ve got to keep developing in the right direction.
“I wouldn’t have preferred to lose it in 90 minutes, obviously, as I always want to win. But the next best thing is a draw and we’ll go down there with no pressure on us.
“We’ll use this performance as confidence.
“We’ll assess whether we’ll use different players for the replay closer to the game, freshness-wise. But we’ll pick the team that we think is right for the night.
“We’re very pleased with James. He could have two or