Andy Taylor was disappointed for his players not to see them sign off their Central League campaign with a win after being pegged back late on at Derby.
The Whites found their squad fully stretched but led three times before the Rams hit back in an action-packed second half to earn a share of the points.
Conor Lewis put Wanderers ahead before the break when he ran onto a Toby Ritchie pass to slot home at County’s Moor Farm training ground.
After Derby equalised for a first time, Oli Smith headed the Whites back in front when he nodded in at the far post following goalmouth scramble to spark a late flurry of goals.
Within moments of Derby’s second equaliser, Wanderers restored their lead when Ritchie ran onto a Jamie Grayson clearance to hold off a defender and fire home.
That looked like it might be the winner but with five minutes to go the hosts struck again to deny Taylor’s side the chance to finish second in the table.
“To come to a Category One academy with what we had available – youngsters on the bench, Harry Leigh just back from injury and Daeshon Lawrence from illness – they put a real shift in and it was a really good result,” said the B Team boss.
“We had to play a different way and sit in and try and play on the counter-attack which we did really well. It was a decent performance and I’m just gutted for the lads they didn’t quite get it done.”
Wanderers completed their league programme with three wins, three draws and two defeats and can still finish their season on a high with a Lancashire FA Senior Cup semi-final to come next week as they look to defend the trophy.
Wanderers: Lomax, Smith, Mawditt, Oliver, Grayson, Irwin, Leigh, Sharples-Ahmed, Lawrence, Ritchie, Lewis. Substitutes: Tutte, Healy, Fakhy.
Derby: Price, Perry, Gill, Banks, Offor, Tola, Richards, Hawkins, Oguntolu, Whaling, Gough. Substitutes: Thompson, Robinson, Coray, Osayande, Clarke.
Meanwhile, the Youth Team had a tough day in the Midlands as they lost 3-0 at Walsall to leave them with three games to go in the EFL Youth Alliance.