RIVAL managers Sam Allardyce and Sir Alex Ferguson were united in praise of their respective teams after an enthralling match at the Reebok on Wednesday night.

For Wanderers boss Allardyce the defeat was tempered by the high level achieved by his players, while Ferguson was just delighted to come away with three points on a night when Arsenal and Chelsea both slipped up.

Allardyce said: "It was a magnificent effort overall but we must defend better. In the end I was disappointed."

Ferguson reflected: " Yes, it was a battling performance, but we're good at that. We handled Bolton's pressure well. It is hard to win here."

Goals from Paul Scholes and Ruud van Nistelrooy had given United a comfortable first-half platform, but it needed fine saves from the ever improving Tim Howards to keep Wanderers out.

And when Gary Neville was forced into a headed own goal in the 88th minute as Youri Djorkaeff put him under pressure Wanderers surged forward relentlessly with even keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen joining in the action.

The final whistle was a relief for United and agony for Wanderers. As Allardyce said: "If only we had scored that goal 10 minutes earlier . . ."