STUART Holden never saw his derby winner hit the back of the net – but still rates it among the best moments of his footballing career.

The US international’s stunning strike handed Wanderers their first victory over Sam Allardyce since he walked out of the Reebok three-and-a-half years ago, and their first Premier League win against Blackburn at home since 1998.

It arrived less than a minute after Mame Diouf had seized an equaliser against the 10-men Whites, and sparked scenes of celebration the midfielder won’t forget in a hurry.

“I didn’t see it go in because I got sandwiched between two defenders,” Holden told The Bolton News after the game.

“I think Blackburn were still celebrating their goal, but usually those shots with my left foot end up 20 feet over. Happily for me this one finished in the back of the net.

“There is no way to explain a celebration like that because you are so overjoyed.

“With everything considered it was one of my best goals – with it being the winner in the derby and knowing how much it meant to the fans.

“I didn’t quite know how to celebrate. I got tackled down and could hear the crowd shouting and screaming, and for me that made the goal.”

The biggest number of home fans for two years at the Reebok witnessed a thrilling game, with more than 22,000 taking advantage of reduced ticket prices for the televised encounter.

And Holden was thrilled to send them home happy, after it had looked for the briefest of moments that their hard work had been for nothing.

“They made it tough but once we went down to 10-men it opened up the game because they tried to attack,” he said. “It forced them to go for the win because they saw light at the end of the tunnel.

“But we managed to catch them and Fabrice Muamba came up with a great finish.

“And I think we deserved to go on and win it with 10 men.

“For a second we thought we had thrown it away but we went back down the other end and the ball is in the back of the net.”

Wanderers moved briefly into fifth spot before Tottenham reclaimed the position after their 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

Owen Coyle has passed off talk of European qualification as “fanciful” in the last few weeks, but Holden insists the club can maintain its current lofty league placing.

“I don’t think we’re surprised by how well we’ve done but other people maybe,” he said. “We have always had that belief. I see it every day in training and now we are starting to translate that into games at the weekend.

“It’s a great feeling and a great place to be at the moment. Confidence is high.

“It was important to get the three points after our last two games and against Blackburn who had a good win last weekend.

“There would have been some disappointing faces in the dressing room had we drawn that game.”