His Manchester United side were cruising home after
they took a 2-0 lead.
But Matt Taylor hauled the Trotters back in it before
Bolton's all-in raid put Fergie in a spin.
The United boss said: "It was more tense than we would
have liked.
"We made it hard for ourselves and we were panicking at
times. But we got through it, just."
Chelsea and Liverpool's twin defeats saw United climb
back to the top of the table.
But Ferguson wasn't shocked by his arch rivals'
slip-ups.
He added: "This is a tough league.
"There have been some surprise results already. But we
have had a couple ourselves, losing at Burnley and drawing at home
to Sunderland."
Ivan Klasnic had a goal ruled out during Bolton's
desperate assault, with Ricardo Gardner pulled up for a foul on
Edwin van der Sar.
And Gary Megson fumed: "It was a ridiculous
decision.
"Ricardo clearly got to the ball in front of Van der
Sar. I didn't think it was a free-kick at all."