Danny Rose (right) and Stevenage's Lawrie Wilson battle for the ball

FA Cup: Stevenage 0 Tottenham 0

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Tottenham struggled to adapt to a curious experimental formation this afternoon as they were held to a goalless draw at Stevenage in the FA Cup.

Despite stating his desire to go all the way to Wembley and lift the trophy, Harry Redknapp made six changes from the side that had thumped Newcastle, and opted for a new 3-4-1-2 system.

Spurs’ players never really adapted to the system and, after switching to 4-4-2 and back again in the second half, struggled to find any kind of cohesion.

Michael Dawson saw a header cleared off the line in the first half and Louis Saha had a goal disallowed for offside after the break, but Tottenham never outclassed their League One hosts, who deserved their replay and a night at White Hart Lane.

Ryan Nelsen made his first start for Spurs in a three-man rearguard, while Danny Rose and Kyle Walker lined up on the flanks with Scott Parker and Jake Livermore in the middle.

Gareth Bale was stationed in a free role ahead of the central duo, supporting the strike pairing of Jermain Defoe and Louis Saha, who appeared together for the first time.

It was Tottenham who got the first scare as Dawson survived a strong handball appeal inside the first two minutes, and Carlo Cudicini was then fortunate to gather a cross at the second attempt under pressure from Darius Charles.

The Lilywhites responded, with Defoe racing clear onto Younes Kaboul’s long ball, but the striker was unable to get the crucial first touch and pull the ball out of the sky.

Unfortunately, that uncharacteristically direct approach continued throughout the opening half an hour as Spurs dropped to the level of their League One opponents.

The visitors were clearly missing the precise passing and technical ability of Luka Modric, who had been due to play but succumbed to illness before the match.

There was a brief flash of creativity as Rose got to the by-line and delivered a low cross for Defoe, who was unable to turn his effort at goal – but that was the exception to an uninspiring start from Redknapp’s side.

It took 33 minutes for the Lilywhites to really worry their former goalkeeper Chris Day, as the increasingly effective Rose hared to the by-line again and delivered an enticing cross in the goalmouth, where Walker headed wide from close range.

That seemed to give Tottenham some much-needed confidence, and Saha went down in the box under a challenge from Jon Ashton, appealing for a penalty, while Dawson met another Rose cross with a towering goalbound header – only to see the ball cleared off the line by Michael Bostwick.

It was The Boro who finished the half on top though, with Dawson having to make an important intervention to clear as a dangerous corner was flicked into the six-yard box.

The half-time whistle went soon after and, with the scores level, Stevenage went into the break to a standing ovation from the appreciative home crowd.

They could have been behind with moments of the restart as Bale drove through the centre of the midfield and let fly from 25 yards, forcing a fine save from Day.

Spurs thought they had broken the deadlock after 54 minutes as Rose beat his man and put another low cross into the danger zone.

Day palmed the ball out to Saha, who fired into the empty net, but the ball flicked off Parker on the goalline, and the England midfielder was adjudged to be offside as the strike was disallowed.

Spurs were not having it all their own though, and Joel Byrom sent a dipping 30-yard effort just over Cudicini’s crossbar, while Nelsen had to make a hurried clearance when the Italian keeper spilled another long-range effort.

With just over an hour gone, Redknapp finally reverted to 4-4-2, with Niko Kranjcar replacing the largely anonymous Walker on the right flank. Kaboul and Rose adopted the regular full-back slots, while Bale moved out to the left wing.

That change had little effect and with 10 minutes left, an injury to Rose enforced another change, with Aaron Lennon coming on – and Spurs switched back to 3-5-2.

This time, Bale and Lennon were the wide men, with Kranjcar, Livermore and Parker in the middle.

All of these alterations hardly improved Tottenham’s chances of finding a winner and, although Defoe had a snapshot from the edge of the box, which went wide, the final moments ended uneventfully.

Tottenham were below par on a bumpy pitch, but they will certainly expect to progress at the second attempt on March 7 - the provisional date for the replay.

And, with a home tie against Bolton awaiting the winners in the quarter-final, Spurs are two home wins away from a Wembley semi-final.

Their prospects of lifting the cup are as strong as ever.

Tottenham: Cudicini, Walker (Kranjcar 63), Dawson, Kaboul, Nelsen, Rose (Lennon 81), Livermore, Parker, Bale, Saha, Defoe.

Follow me on Twitter @BenPearceSpurs