The effervescent, even frivolous second half, which yielded all six goals, ridiculed the pragmatism of the opening 45 minutes at the Reebok Stadium yesterday. Bolton's solid home form has been the central platform of their attempt at Premiership survival. They have lost once in nine games at their opulent new stadium and, before yesterday, had conceded three goals.

Derby had let in four goals in each of their three previous away games, at Liverpool, Leeds and Chelsea, and seemed most reluctant to do something similar again. On this occasion, however, it was a match they could easily have won and would have done so if they had not conceded two goals in the space of four minutes late in the match.

The first half was entertaining enough, especially from Bolton's perspective, but the 0-0 scoreline at half-time could have surprised no one.

It needed a penalty in the 48th minute to kick-start the scoring. Igor Stimac, who was less than his old commanding self at the heart of Derby's defence, brought down Per Frandsen and Alan Thompson gave Bolton the lead.

It was no more than they deserved. They had been the superior side in the first half and Nathan Blake had been particularly unlucky as early as the sixth minute when his header from a corner on the right came back off the bar. The enduring wit of Peter Beardsley also caused Derby some consternation.

The penalty, however, so spurred Derby that they dominated the next 20 minutes, in which they scored three times, and the movement of their Italians, Stefano Eranio and Francesco Baiano, made Bolton's defence seem ponderous and even dull-witted at times.

It was Eranio who equalised in the 54th minute after a fine through ball from Stimac, and 10 minutes later Baiano gave Derby a 2-1 lead after Dean Sturridge's cross from the right had been palmed away by the goalkeeper, Gavin Ward.

At that point Bolton looked forlorn, no more so than when Frandsen shot tamely at the goalkeeper from well outside the area and hung his head in disappointment .

Derby, who had won three of their previous five games and would have gone sixth if they had won again yesterday, seemed certain of victory when in the 69th minute Baiano made it 3-1. Barmily, they looked for more and let Bolton back into the game. Bolton pulled back to 3-2 in the 72nd, when Blake headed in Thompson's cross, and four minutes later Frandsen sprinted clear of the hesitant Stimac before back-heeling to Jamie Pollock, who beat Mart Poom with a firm, low drive.

"Colin Todd must be feeling now what I felt at half-time," Derby's manager, Jim Smith, said afterwards, raising his eyebrows and scratching his famous Bald Eagle scalp. "We could easily have been 2-0 down at half-time. Then we had a great spell and went 3-1 up. But we couldn't defend it. That's us.

"I think today we've gone from fourth to about second in the entertainment league. But we could have won it. There were enough senior pros out there to make the most of a 3-1 lead. We knew Bolton would come at us at that stage but we let them do it. Instead of sitting back we looked for four or five goals."

Todd shrugged and said: "It was a great game of football. I'm delighted with the character we showed out there today, especially as I was forced to make five changes and didn't name my side until 2.45 p.m.

"We had the better of the first half but Derby came back at us in the second. They are a good side capable of moving the ball about. We have never conceded this many goals at home, but Derby gave us problems."

He was pleased his team took some reward from the game: "We might need that point at the end of the season."