FOR 76 minutes last night, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson must have been chewing gum at breakneck speed.

He may have even set a world record for the most chews every 10 seconds.

How else would you describe his emotions when for so long, he couldn't find a clue as to how to beat bottom-of-the-table Derby?

After their 6-1 mauling by Chelsea in the midweek, no one - not even Ferguson - would have expected such stern resistance, let alone Derby's audacity to almost secure a 2-0 lead by half-time.

Singapore punters probably lost money too, expecting a Chelsea-like thrashing by Man United last night.

But after weathering the storm - thanks to two brilliant season-saving saves by third-choice goalkeeper Ben Foster - Cristiano Ronaldo finally stepped up to be the hero for Man United.

How did he do it?

Well, after spending the whole game cursing again about shoulder and body challenges from Derby players - most of them fair though - his breakthrough came in the 76th minute when John O'Shea's ball sent Wayne Rooney scampering down the left wing.

Rooney evaded his marker before volleying the ball dangerously across goal. Ronaldo was first ahead of a group of defenders to deftly sidefoot the ball home.

Ronaldo's veins on his forehead almost popped as he pumped his fist and issued a battle cry, similar to what you'd usually see in those classic war movies.

Except that this was no 'D-Day' type of match.

Er...it was Derby.

Rams to the slaughter? No way.

Somehow, something must have suddenly transformed manager Paul Jewell and his Rams before last night's game.

The moment they arrived at their home ground of Pride Park, something in that name must have stirred their spirits.

They kept their defensive shape against the expected Man United barrage.

Then, as they gained in confidence after the half-hour mark - with the score still 0-0 - the Rams started charging towards the Red Devils.

SLACK DEFENCE

Just before the break, int he space of 120 seconds, Foster twice had to pull off saves to bail a slack Man United defence in front of him.

First, he dived superbly to tip away Mile Sterjovski's shot, and a minute later, he denied Kenny Miller's curling goal-bound effort.

In my Saturday preview, I wrote how Man U would recover from their 'Cup hangover'.

But who would have expected Foster - making his long-awaited debut for the club three seasons after moving to Old Trafford - to save his side so crucially, before Ronaldo scored the back-breaking winner?

Foster, 24, spent two seasons on loan to Watford - in the Championship (a league below the Premiership) - before having a knee operation in pre-season.

With only one reserve game behind him, he was drafted in as Edwin van der Sar has a groin problem and Tomasz Kuszczak was suspended.

And as Man United's other stars - notably off-form veterans Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs - failed to shine, it was left to Foster and Ronaldo, to keep the title chase well and truly alive.

DERBY: Carroll, Edworthy (Todd 55), Moore, Leacock, McEveley, Savage, Sterjovski (Robert 73), Lewis, Jones, Earnshaw, Miller

MAN U: Foster, O'Shea, Brown, Evra, Vidic, Giggs, Scholes (Carrick 62), Ronaldo, Anderson (Fletcher 74), Rooney, Park (Saha 62)

EPL RESULTS