Late Speed penalty enough for Trotters

New signing Nicolas Anelka made his Bolton debut but it needed veteran midfielder Gary Speed to come to Wanderers' rescue with an injury-time penalty and secure a 1-0 win for the Trotters.

Referee Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot after Danny Shittu had needlessly tripped Idan Tal.

And Speed showed a cool head to rifle the penalty kick beyond goalkeeper Ben Foster and into the corner.

Israel midfielder Tal had stepped off the bench and showed good skill by jinking his way into the area to get his reward.

Watford were left stunned after seeing efforts from Damien Francis and Ashley Young come back off the woodwork.

Anelka stepped straight into the Bolton side following his £8 million move from Fenerbahce.

The home side had a scare after four minutes when Young delivered a deep cross from the right. Bolton defender Nicky Hunt almost scored an own goal, his attempted clearance just clearing the bar.

Kevin Nolan tried to release Anelka in the 16th minute following a surging run. But the talented midfielder over-hit the pass and the chance was lost.

Watford hit back and Malky Mackay's header nestled in Jussi Jaaskelainen's arms following a long throw from Gavin Mahon.

This was a good spell of pressure by the visitors and Francis was unlucky to see his effort come back off the post in the 20th minute.

Anelka squandered a good chance in 28th minute following a superb through-ball by Ivan Campo. He snatched at his effort and saw it go wide of Foster's left-hand post.

Anelka turned away in frustration after failing to make the most of the opportunity. Bolton boss Sam Allardyce decided to shake things up in the 35th minute as his side were struggling to get a foothold in the game. He brought on young Portuguese striker Ricardo Vaz Te for Hunt.

It was a bold move by Allardyce but one he obviously felt was necessary given the way his team had started.

Vaz Te almost made an immediate impact. He turned quickly in the 39th minute only for his shot from close range to clear the bar. Bolton began to look dynamic and three minutes later

Abdoulaye Faye's header went close following a corner from El-Hadji Diouf. Then in stoppage time the lively Vaz Te rattled a lob just wide of the post.

Bolton picked up the pace at the start of the second half and looked more assured than they did in the early stages.

Diouf found space down the right in the 54th minute and whipped in a cross that was scrambled away to safety.

Anelka was always looking for the ball and the fans were quickly warming to him. Unfortunately for Bolton it was another low gate compared to previous seasons, with a crowd of just 21,000.

Anelka then tested Foster in the 57th minute turning quickly to fire in a shot the goalkeeper did well to parry. However play switched back down the other end two minutes later when Darius Henderson steered a header wide of the post.

Anelka was beginning to run out of steam and replaced by Tal in the 71st minute. Vaz Te then found the net but his effort was disallowed for offside.

Young effort's came back off the bar and Marlon King sent a shot wide of the target with Bolton back-pedalling.

Mackay could have sealed victory but his header went over the top. Then Speed secured the points for Bolton, leaving Watford still looking for their first league win.