Preston North End and Bolton Wanderers were unable to break the deadlock over the course of the 90 minutes as the Lancashire derby ended in a goalless draw at Deepdale this evening.
The Trotters could have taken the lead in the early stages of the match when Jay Spearing picked out Shola Ameobi in the box from a corner, but his header was well saved by Jordan Pickford.
Preston hit back as Joe Garner teed up Marnick Vermijl, but he could only slice his effort wide of the target, while minutes later Garner fired his strike straight into the hands of Ben Amos.
David Wheater made two vital blocks to keep the scores level to deny the hosts the lead as Daniel Johnson threatened after raiding into the penalty area.
In the second half, Spearing had the chance to fire at goal from just outside the box from a set piece, but he could only lift his effort over the bar.
Johnson continued to be Preston's main threat in the final third as he collected a throw in down the right and turned his man on the edge of the area before firing at goal, but his shot was saved with ease by Amos.
Jordan Hugill raided forward with menace, but he chose the wrong option not to release the run of Johnson in the box, as he decided to shoot at goal and his effort drifted wide of the post.
Pickford kept the scores level with a fine save to deny Bolton the lead in the dying minutes of the game as he got down to low to his right to palm Gary Madine's strike away from goal.
The result leaves Preston 18th in the table and still searching for their first home win of the campaign, while Bolton remain in the bottom three in 22nd place.
Simon Sinclair
