Watford 0, Wanderers 1

But Sam Allardyce, celebrating his first Premiership win of 2007 just 24 hours after facing his first serious injury crisis of the season, reckoned the physios might have had a helping hand from an unlikely source.

For once, the Wanderers boss was grateful for what he describes as "meaningless" international friendlies that clutter the season and cause him so much grief.

He reckoned it was the prospect of playing for their countries that gave Anelka and the other walking wounded, a shot in the arm.

"It's amazing how they come round," Allardyce said with a wry smile after seeing the Frenchman secure three vital points at Vicarage Road.

"One or two of the lads were complaining about knocks on Wednesday and Thursday, but they all cleared up.

"They do like to play for their country but, if they aren't going to be fit to play for us, they aren't going to go."

Anelka, whose 62nd minute goal decided an instantly forgettable contest, smiled broadly after netting his ninth of the season.

"I felt happy with my fitness on the day of the game, and I was made up to play the full match and score the winner," he said. "I am now looking forward to joining up with my colleagues in France for the friendly against Argentina and making it two wins in a week for me."

Allardyce will still be waiting anxiously on Thursday morning for positive fitness reports on each of his international brigade as he prepares for Sunday's Reebok clash with Fulham. In the meantime he can take heart from a morale-boosting win and another important contribution from his record signing.

Whatever it was that got Anelka on the field, when it was feared he could be sidelined for a fortnight, it did the trick.

The enigmatic Frenchman once again showed his class and proved his worth.

His eighth Premiership goal, impressively struck after a gift from England squad keeper Ben Foster, gave Wanderers their first win in five league games and rekindled their Champions League ambitions.

No wonder they are determined to keep him happy.

A game that would have had the purists squirming, needed something or someone to lift it above the ordinary, and the £8 million man delivered.

A class above any player on the field, he always looked the most likely to break the deadlock. But anything he did manage to produce, he had to conjure up himself - a first half thunderbolt that almost took Foster's gloves off and a couple of second-half exchanges with El-Hadji Diouf that had the Watford defenders in a spin.

The second forced the decisive corner that Gary Speed whipped in and Foster punched . . . only as far as the edge of the box, where Anelka was prowling. This time a low right-footer found its mark.

"The goal came from nothing," Anelka said. "The ball fell to me after their keeper tried to clear it away.

"I instinctively hit the shot and it went in. When chances are limited you have to make sure you are ruthless when they come your way."

It was all Wanderers needed. Watford were facing an instant return to the Championship before they sold their best player, Ashley Young, to Aston Villa. Now they look doomed.

They might have snatched an undeserved draw in the dying seconds when Jussi Jaaskelainen handled the ball outside his area as he prevented Darius Henderson cashing in after Malky Mackay tried to get on the end of Jordan Stewart's long ball.

To Allardyce's relief, referee Rob Styles got the decision spot-on and the keeper escaped with just a yellow card. When the resulting free-kick was taken, it slammed into the wall, where Anelka helped save the day, getting his body in the way to clear the danger.

"He's a top player and I'm glad he's with us," Jaaskelainen said in tribute to the globe-trotting 27-year-old.

"He's the man we need when we play like this. He's a brilliant signing for us, and a top man.

"His work rate and everything about him is professional. I haven't seen many better professionals than him.

"Hopefully, we can keep him happy because if he is happy, he will play well."

The men who broke the bank to bring Anelka to the Reebok have known all along that the man who was schooled at Paris St Germain before graduating as a world class striker at Arsenal, is not inclined to put down roots, as brief spells at Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool and Fenerbahce have proved.

Allardyce has even suggested he could be on his travels again in the summer as clubs with more to offer see him prospering once more in the Premiership.

But, Champions League football could persuade him to stick around long enough to claim a place among the great and the good of Bolton Wanderers.

And, as things stand, a top four finish is not out of the question. A return to the UEFA Cup is likelier, considering the lack of consistency that has seen them squander so many opportunities already this season. Nevertheless, sitting two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, the big prize is still in their sights. They will need to perform considerably better than at Vicarage Road, though.

Overwhelmingly the superior side and never seriously tested, all they needed was a goal. But, while they survived just one anxious first-half moment when Jay DeMerit missed the target with a header from Hameur Bouazza's free kick, they didn't produce much themselves in the way of excitement or entertainment - hardly the stuff to reverse the declining attendance figures.

But, after collecting just two points in January with four even less inspiring performances, any win was welcome.

And, while they never got into their attacking stride, they were impressive at the back - none more so than Abdoulaye Meite, the big defender who is starting to look every inch the player Wanderers had on their radar for more than two years before they brought him from Marseille last summer. DeMerit and Mackay went some way to frustrating Wanderers, but it was Allardyce's back four who took the defensive honours.

Tal Ben Haim, restored to the side at left-back at the expense of Ricardo Gardner, showed the quality as well as the versatility that has put him on Chelsea's wish-list.

But, Abdoulaye Faye is now the preferred choice as Meite's partner and there was nothing here to suggest the Israeli will regain his favoured centre-back position as he plays out the remainder of his Reebok contract.

And, for all the talk of Wanderers being "desperate" to sign a new right-back in the transfer window, Nicky Hunt turned in a performance of maturity that suggests he has rediscovered his confidence as well as his form that put his position under threat.