KEVIN Nolan, the youngest player on the pitch, dominated the headlines but it was the two oldest, Gudni Bergsson and Mike Whitlow, who helped set the stage for Wanderers' record-breaking Old Trafford triumph.

At 37 and 34 respectively, the Reebok pair form the oldest centre-back combination in the Premier League but they are not ready to be pensioned off just yet - as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer discovered to their cost.

In the end it was Nolan's 77th minute goal and three stunning late saves from Jussi Jaaskelainen that saw Wanderers beat United on their own patch for the second year running but it was the solid defensive display - with Bergsson and Whitlow the central figures - that laid the foundation.

Full-backs are so often the unsung heroes but in their two 30-year-olds, Wanderers had worthy candidates for the Oscar for Best Supporting Players.

Anthony Barness would not have played had Bruno N'Gotty or Bernard Mendy not injured themselves in training 24 hours earlier and Simon Charlton showed quick healing powers as well as fierce determination to making a swift recovery from a nasty groin injury picked up in the crunching collision with Villa's Lee Hendrie in the previous game.

The fact that neither Ryan Giggs nor David Beckham made any significant impact - apart from Goldenballs' mistake that led to Nolan's goal - says everything about their effectiveness on the flanks.

In fact every player in a white shirt was a hero but Bergsson and Whitlow gave service above and beyond the call of duty.

The skipper, with his air of authority and ice-cool temperament in pressure situations, was imperious while his sidekick whose humble beginnings - rejected by Wanderers as an apprentice and consigned to a stint in non-league before being rescued by Howard Wilkinson at Leeds - means he relishes every waking minute of every day he spends doing the job he loves. That famous grin of his never left his face - even in the heat of the derby battle when he stretched every sinew to make those telling tackles and vital interceptions that kept the Red tide at bay.

Paul Warhurst - a rival centre-back until the versatility bus dropped him off at the defensive midfield stop - knows enough about defending to recognise quality when he sees it and he had no doubts about hailing the back four - Bergsson in particular - as the stars of the Old Trafford show.

"The key to our form at the moment is keeping clean sheets and we were all delighted to get our second consecutive one at Old Trafford," said the young-at-heart 32-year-old. When you look at our back four, they are like a line of old grandad's really, but you have to admire them! Experience is priceless but when you get the whole team

working as hard as we do, it definitely makes their jobs easier.

"Take Gudni , for example. He is 37 but is still playing brilliantly on a regular basis. He's been our best player for two years running and is an example to all young players. He can't train as often as he used to but when he plays he is outstanding. I will be ecstatic if I'm still playing at this level when I'm his age."

Warhurst, who replaced the tiring Youri Djorkaeff in a second half substitution, summed up the joy generated by the derby delight.

"Every man played his heart out," he added. "We battled and battled, defended brilliantly, rode our luck at times but most importantly of all, we sneaked a goal at the other end.

"We may only have taken three points but they may turn out to be our most valuable of the season.

"It was also nice to give our fans something to cheer about and then to boast about the next day at work! We made a lot of people very happy by winning at Old Trafford I'm sure."