Sam incensed after last gasp equaliser

For the umpteenth time this season, the Wanderers' boss was so incensed after seeing precious safety points surrendered in the dramatic closing minutes that he simply did not want to hear the praise being heaped on him and his players.

It got to the point where the next pat on the back might provoke a punch in the mouth, never mind a boot in the eyebrow!

That was in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's dramatic derby when Big Sam, whose dyed-in-the-wool professionalism makes him value results above performances, was too wound up to see any further than a vital victory that had again slipped through his fingers.

It is unlikely but maybe in calm reflection he will look back with pride - both in his team, who produced the best ever Premiership performance by a Bolton side against United, and in his own ability in yet again putting his managerial talents to the test against Sir Alex Ferguson and passing with distinction.

In four head-to-heads with the most successful manager who has ever worked in English football, Allardyce has now won twice, drawn once and lost once.

For the second successive season it looks like United will be counting the cost of points they have dropped against Wanderers as they watch Arsenal being crowned Premiership Champions.

That, of course, will mean nothing to Allardyce. He is charged with ensuring Wanderers are not relegated and when it comes to counting the points that got away, he has enough on his plate, thank you very much.

Blackburn, Chelsea, West Brom ... now United. This one really does hurt, considering the value Bolton fans place on wins against their arch-rivals.

But they must, whatever the boss says, draw consolation from seeing their team - inspired by world-class performers like Jay-Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo - make the multi-talented Reds look distinctly second best.

Okay, looking at the bottom line it may be of little or no consequence that Wanderers dominated the game, repeatedly had United on the back foot and were in no way flattered when Bruno N'Gotty made his presence felt in a crowded area to bundle home Djorkaeff's free kick. An hour had gone and there was only one team in it.

Considering all that went before was cancelled out when Ricardo Gardner lost possession allowing David Beckham to set up Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's equaliser in the last minute of normal time, it was not surprising Big Sam was steaming at the end. He had seen Wanderers produce their best football of the season with hardly a blot on the copybook. Even when United did manage to breach a defence featuring an impressive debut by Florent Laville, Jussi Jaaskelainen was on hand to deny Roy Keane with a remarkable save.

The manager's point is that none of that counts for anything.

Premiership survival is all about collecting points and, for all their efforts, Wanderers were the architects of their own downfall.

But never mind all that, Sam. Stand up and take a bow!

Because, by Ferguson's own admission, Wanderers were the better side. Specifically, they were better prepared and Allardyce and his backroom team can take the credit for that - credit that should help them and their players draw encouragement for the 10 games to come against teams far worse than Manchester United.

It must be noted that, while the bulk of the Bolton squad had enjoyed the luxury of a six-day, warm-weather break in Dubai followed by five days of uninterrupted training on the heated Reebok pitch, United were slogging through three competitions - not to mention the England players, who form such a significant part of their team, suffering the psychological blow of losing to Australia!

Allardyce's suggestion that fatigue would be a factor was a good call. He also reckoned it might be to Wanderers' advantage that the derby was sandwiched between United's two big Champions League clashes with Juventus.

After all, he had exploited a similar situation to mastermind last season's 2-1 win at Old Trafford!

And so it seemed as Wanderers looked fresher, more energetic and, from the first whistle, far more determined. Okocha, Djorkaeff and Campo eclipsed anything on offer from the United midfield quartet of Beckham, Keane, Seba Veron and Ryan Giggs, encouraging quicksilver youngsters Bernard Mendy and Ricardo Gardner to use their pace to its best effect - positive and penetrating. It helped to have Laville and Gudni Bergsson performing so well together at the heart of an excellent back four while United, despite boasting some of the most formidable attacking talent in the Premiership, were subdued for long periods.

But take nothing away from Wanderers. All successful teams thrive on regular match action and Ferguson has a strong enough squad to have been able to cope with the fact that this was United's 47th game of the season. Arsenal had no problems at Maine Road!

Yet when N'Gotty pounced to score only his second goal in Bolton colours, it was just one of a handful of excellent opportunities Wanderers - technically as well as tactically superior - had fashioned and gone desperately close to converting.

Campo was just a fraction too high with a shot as early as the eighth minute when he picked himself up, furious to be denied a penalty after being blatantly wrestled to the ground by John O'Shea, while Mendy and Gardner both finished wildly after racing into good positions.

Fabian Barthez - the only United man to come up to scratch - was alert and agile enough to tip away shots from Djorkaeff and Okocha but it would have been interesting to see how he would have fared had Henrik Pedersen been a split-second quicker when Okocha threaded a breathtaking pass between Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown.

Maybe the shaven-headed Frenchman would have prevailed as he did when he kept out Pedersen's close range header nine minutes into the second half when Wanderers seemed destined to do everything but score. Who knows?

It was both frustrating and ironic that United, so clearly out of sorts and having finally gone behind, should finish so strongly. Jaded they may have been but, encouraged by Wanderers suddenly getting sloppy, desperation raised their energy levels.

Yet still, as a dangerous Beckham cross drifted tantalisingly away from Dutchman van Nistelrooy and Norwegian ace Solksjaer, it seemed Bolton fans would be celebrating their first double over United for 24 years.

In the end it was cruel on Gardner. Not only had he given his all going forward, he had helped out at the back with telling interventions.

As he strode forward again, he aimed a pass at Okocha, who could have held the ball and soaked up precious moments as the clock ticked. But it was no use looking to Allardyce for any sympathy - not with that top lip tightening.