EXPERIMENTATION was the order of the day at Fylde as two completely different Wanderers teams found it a similarly frustrating exercise breaking down their hosts.

Twenty-three different players took to the park for the Whites in a game which felt more like a roll-back to the start of the month than the fourth outing of the summer.

Pre-match the major talking point was the arrival of ex-Hull City defender Alex Bruce as a trialist.

The 32-year-old, who spent time at Wigan on loan last season, came on as a second-half substitute and coped perfectly well, in the more convincing of the two halves.

Parkinson is certainly exploring every possible formation, rolling out a three-man defence for the first time at Fylde, which makes it four different shapes used in the four friendlies so far.

Wanderers clicked into gear periodically in the first half and should have had a goal for their efforts.

Adam Le Fondre wasted the best chance, running on to Jeff King’s fine through ball and getting two-thirds of the way around keeper Rhys Taylor, only for him to push out a glove at the last moment to divert the danger.

Gary Madine also had a couple of half-chances, and was also denied by the Fylde keeper just before the break after the ball had dropped kindly to him 10 yards out.

But it was by no means a one-sided affair, and the newly-promoted Conference club proved worthy adversaries and Mark Howard had to get down smartly to make saves from Andy Bond and Henry Jones.

Wanderers might have sneaked into the lead in stoppage time as Darren Pratley charged through on goal – but once again it was Taylor who rushed off his line smartly to clear the danger.

Parkinson didn’t even give a team-talk at half time, his players either warming up or down on the pitch during the interval.

Despite the wholesale changes the shape did not alter in the second half – Wanderers continuing with an experimental look.

Sammy Ameobi partnered his ex-Newcastle United team-mate Adam Armstrong up top, with Will Buckley used for the first time in the middle of the park. Derik also made a welcome return to centre-back, alongside Dorian Derivte and trialist, Bruce.

Almost immediately, Ameobi and Armstrong clicked into gear. Jem Karacan won the ball on the right and set in motion a fluid attack, concluding with Armstrong blasting a shot narrowly wide into the massed ranks of Whites fans behind the goal.

It would have been the perfect introduction – but the 20-year-old didn’t dwell on it, and just moments later drifted out to the right to set up another good chance for Buckley, fired narrowly wide.

With 15 minutes left Armstrong thought he had grabbed a goal on his first appearance, only for the linesman to rain on his parade by raising his flag for offside.

Soon after he turned provider once again to play Buckley through on the right – this time the former Sunderland winger should have done better, failing to test ex-Wanderers keeper Jay Lynch from the angle.

And with virtually the last kick of the game Lynch made a point-blank save to deny him a chance to send the Bolton fans back up the M61 happy.

Ameobi also provided a few reminders of the close control which made him such a success in last season’s loan spell.

The unpredictability, those telescopic legs, all make him such an enjoyable player to watch – and if Parkinson can get him bubbling with confidence in the same way he did last season, he is one player who does have the quality to unlock doors in the Championship.

Derik’s second-half appearance was another highlight for Wanderers, the Spaniard making a couple of excellent interceptions in his natural position.

There was little he could do but admire a late shot from James Hardy, however, which bounced off the inside of Ben Alnwick’s post.

Perhaps the only downside of a useful exercise was a late injury for Karacan, who limped off with 10 minutes to go.

How Wanderers lined up

First half

Howard; Beevers, Wheater, Brockbank; Little, Perry, Pratley, King, Taylor; Madine, Le Fondre.

Second half

Alnwick; Darby, Bruce, Dervite, Taylor; Karacan (Earing 80), Derik, Vela, Ameobi, Buckley; Armstrong.

Referee: Leigh Doughty