Wanderers 2, Watford 1 SAM Allardyce raided his memory banks to set up a richly deserved triumph which could be worth its weight in gold, writes Neil Bonnar. At half time the ecstacy of victory looked a distant prospect. Then Big Sam remembered a tactical switch which had served him well before.

"I moved Ricardo Gardner to the right wing and Gareth Farrelly to the left," the manager explained. "We did well that way against Barnsley and it worked exceptionally well for us again."

With Gardner rampaging down the right, Farrelly on-song on the left and half time substitute Ian Marshall roughing up the Watford defence, the visitors didn't know what had hit them.

It was all a far cry from a first 45 minutes in which Wanderers had looked disjointed and walked off to boos from the restless Reebok natives.

That negative response was rather harsh considering Wanderers had half a team out through injury, illness or suspension and had provided what little goalmouth action there had been after gifting Watford a fourth minute lead.

Paul Warhurst's mistake in selling Jussi Jaaskelainen short with a back pass and seeing Tommy Smith take full advantage flew in the face of Allardyce's pre-match hope that his side would take an early lead and pile the pressure on a Watford side whose confidence was suspect after losing its last three matches.

Instead it was Wanderers who had the mountain to climb.

The first half script was exactly how Graham Taylor had written it - get an early goal, prevent Wanderers getting into any kind of rhythm with uncompromising play and get the crowd on the home side's back.

If there can be such thing as a 'must win' game in December, this was it as defeat would have put Watford six points ahead of Wanderers with two games in hand. And with five other clubs ahead of Bolton with Fulham looking a cert for the top two places, failure to beat the Hornets would have made automatic promotion look a distant dream.

That second half display keeps it looking a very real prospect indeed with the team's confidence having been given as big a lift as its points tally.

The after-match reaction from the Wanderers camp was fairly dripping with positives and next week's visit of Crewe can't come quickly enough.

Just as those half time boos must have been music to Taylor's ears, the Watford manager's fury at full time - he said he would be wise to give himself time to cool off before saying what he really thought about the game - was equally sweet for Wanderers as it was testament to the job they did on Taylor's hotly tipped promotion candidates.

It was a victory built on players' intense will to win even when their ability to win looked questionable.

The defence provided the platform by holding firm whenever potential danger loomed in the form of Watford's speedy breaks.

The personal battles were all intriguing affairs with wide men Tommy Mooney and Nordin Wooter a definite handful but not sufficiently so to get the better of John O'Kane and Robbie Elliott. Central strikers Gifton Noel-Williams and livewire Tommy Smith are good enough to destroy plenty of central defensive partnerships this season but Gudni Bergsson simply oozed knowhow and Paul Warhurst never put a foot wrong after his almightly fourth minute gaffe.

The ring of protection was such that Jussi Jaaskelainen didn't have a serious shot to save when Watford attacked with pace and purpose in the first half and was a virtual spectator in the second.

In the engine room Franck Passi and Kevin Nolan ensured Per Frandsen would not be missed with important contributions, the French veteran doing the simple things effectively and the English youngster making his mark with skill, relish and a maturity beyond his years.

A major problem for Wanderers was that Michael Ricketts had been suffering with migraine and high temperature for days and was not fit to play.

He did so at the request of his manager whose only option was Ian Marshall who he wanted to keep on the bench as cover for both the front and back line.

It was clear Ricketts was firing on a single cylinder and the three-man front line, which had Garder and Hansen supporting him on the flanks, was providing blanks apart from a terrific 20-yard rising drive from Gardner and a thrilling 50-yard run and shot from Hansen which both brought super saves out of Espen Baardsen.

Ricketts' deteriorating strength saw Marshall make his entrance for the second half in a new look line-up with Hansen switched from right to centre, Gardner from left to right and Gareth Farrelly from centre midfield to the left.

It proved to be a masterstroke with Marshall making things happen in a running battle with Watford's centre halves, Hansen picking up the bits and the wide men revelling in their new roles.

Considering Farrelly's lack of match action and training since suffering injury three weeks ago, he was a revelation. A natural athlete, he covered miles of ground at speed and his part in the equalising goal typified the spirit behind the victory.

He refused to allow Robert Page to shepherd the ball over the by-line, flying into a twisting challenge which took ball first, man second and clipped the loose ball out of reach of the oncoming keeper for Gardner to slot into the unguarded net.

It took 70 minutes but at last Wanderers' intense pressure had paid off. If it hadn't been for a flashing save by Baardsen from Farrelly's blistering rocket of a free kick and an even better full length one handed effort to claw Bergsson's powerful header off the line Wanderers would have had their breakthrough much earlier.

Now the Reebok men had the momentum to add to their quality and dominance and it was no surprise when the winner came 13 minutes later. Franck Passi did what he does best, pass it early and to feet, to send Hansen scampering into the box and when the striker's shot was parried into Marshall's path the super sub was on his way into the headlines.