KEVIN Nolan and Michael Ricketts were the heroes as Wanderers came from behind to score a magnificent triumph over the Premiership Champions in a sensational derby duel at Old Trafford writes Gordon Sharrock

Young midfielder Nolan had kept Sam Allardyce's determined and dogged battlers in the game with a superbly struck equaliser 10 minutes after Juan Sebastian Veron had given United a 25th minute lead with a powerfully struck free kick.

But it was top scorer Ricketts who grabbed the glory six minutes from time when he punished England defender Wes Brown's mistake to beat Fabien Barthez

for his sixth goal of the season.

United - quoted at 11-1 ON by some bookies - dominated the game in terms of possession but Wanderers defended superbly and had chances of their own in the second half.

Per Frandsden was convinced he was denied a penalty on 50 minutes when he was tripped by Veron and both Ricketts and Gardner were close to making names

for themselves on exciting counter attacks before Ricketts secured one of the greatest league results in the history of Bolton Wanderers.

The team changes underlined the contrasting strengths of the squads when old-fashioned Lancashire rivalry was revived at Old Trafford.

Sam Allardyce made four changes to the side beaten 4-0 by Newcastle at the Reebok with French defender Bruno N'Gotty, on a year's loan from Marseille, coming in for his first Premiership start, Per Frandsen returning in midfield after injury and youngster Kevin Nolan and top scorer Michael Ricketts winning recalls.

Sir Alex Ferguson's famous rotational policy saw just three of the side that started the midweek Champions League defeat by Deportivo La Coruna getting a Premiership outing. Fabien Barthez kept his place after his high profile blunders while Juan Veron and Paul Scholes continued in midfield.

The Wanderers' squad featured only three players - Gudni Bergsson, Per Frandsen and Dean Holdsworth - who figured in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in February 1998, the last time time the clubs met, and only Bergsson was a survivor of the only previous Premiership game between the derby rivals on this ground in September, 1995 - which ended in a 3-0 defeat for Wanderers.

United: Barthez, P Neville , May, Brown, Silvestre, Butt, Scholes, Veron, Solskjaer, Yorke, Cole. Subs: Giggs for Scholes 65 mins, Chadwick for Yorke 65 mins, G

Neville for May 78 mins. Not used: Stewart, Carroll.

Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, N'Gotty, Bergsson, Whitlow, Charlton, Gardner, Frandsen, Warhurst, Nolan, Hansen, Ricketts. Subs: Johnson for Warhurst 54 mins,

Barness for Hansen 82 mins. Not used: Holdsworth, Wallace, Banks.

Referee: Graham Barber (Hertfordshire)

Attendance: 67,559.