WANDERERS had not taken a battering like it for some time, and yet with a few minutes left on the clock they still clung to a point at Manchester City back in 2005.

Sam Allardyce’s side had just three days earlier made their first inroads into European competition, inflicting a 2-1 defeat on Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

And their exertions had told as City rattled the woodwork on now fewer than five occasions, through Antoine Sibierski (twice), Joey Barton, Sun Jihai and Kiki Musampa.

Jussi Jaaskelainen also made a pair of world class saves, denying luckless Frenchman Sibierski and American Claudio Reyna from close range.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man, and with seconds left on the clock Wanderers got a penalty when Richard Dunne handled the ball in his own penalty box.

Gary Speed took the ball, placed it on the spot, and confidently struck it past David James to spark wild scenes of celebration in the away end and stares of disbelief from the home fans.

Hidetoshi Nakata had made his Premier League debut from the bench for the Whites, following his loan move from Fiorentina.

The Japan legend was flanked by a string of journalists and photographers from his home country, who became very much part of the fixtures and fittings at the Reebok that season.

Such was the demand that the press box had to be extended by a further row to accommodate the many foreign press who were now following Wanderers’ fortunes.