England striker Kevin Phillips ended his goal drought with a superb half-volley to deny Leeds a return to the top of the Premiership table.

The former Watford hitman struck on 55 minutes - his first goal in four games - after running onto Niall Quinn's perfect chested lay-off to give Nigel Martyn no chance as the Wearsiders took control in the space of a whirlwind eight minutes.

Leeds had enjoyed the better of the first half but fell behind within two minutes of the restart when Julio Arca scored from close range after Martyn could only parry Jason McAteer's drive.

And the men from Elland Road will head off on their UEFA Cup trip to Zurich knowing that they had more than enough chances to win the game - Black Cats keeper Thomas Sorensen twice keeping out Robbie Keane and also saving from Alan Smith to condemn United to their first league defeat of the season.

For Sunderland, the victory brought an end to a run of just one win in nine games and, Peter Reid will hope, a stuttering start to the campaign.

The home side were, in the end, good value for the points with the industrious McAteer rewarding his manager's faith with another committed display.

With Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell away on international duty and Lee Bowyer out with a hamstring injury, Leeds boss David O'Leary had little choice but to change things around, but such are his resources that he was able to replace quality with quality.

Former Newcastle midfielder David Batty came in for Bowyer, while England international Smith was asked to partner Keane in attack and £9million signing Seth Johnson was handed a first start in Kewell's place.

Reid too rang the changes as Williams came in for the injured Jody Craddock, Paul Thirlwell surprisingly replaced Stefan Schwarz and in a tactical switch, Quinn returned at the expense of defender Stanislav Varga.

Sunderland ran out knowing that they owed their manager and their supporters a good performance after the abject surrender at Leicester a fortnight ago, and they could not be faulted for effort as they tried to take the game to Leeds from the off.

Republic of Ireland duo McAteer and Quinn in particular were to the fore, but although their side enjoyed plenty of possession, they found it desperately difficult to break down a United rearguard for whom Dominic Matteo and Rio Ferdinand - despite finding life in the air against Quinn testing - were in uncompromising mood.

The visitors managed to soak up what pressure their hosts put them under and, with the superb Batty and Olivier Dacourt gaining the upper hand in the middle of the park, threatened at regular intervals.

However, clear-cut chances were few and far between although Keane and Smith, who was engaged in an increasingly irritable battle with Emerson Thome, both tested Sorensen.

The Irishman should really have put the Yorkshiremen in front on 20 minutes when he ran on to Batty's through-ball but prodded his shot into the keeper's arms.

Keane was in again five minutes before the break when Batty caught out the home defence with a quickly-taken free-kick but again Sorensen came to the rescue as he dashed from his line.

And the Dane did his job seconds later when Smith asked the question from distance after rounding Thome.

In the meantime, Quinn had seen his side's best opportunity go begging when, after he had controlled Thome's deep cross on his chest deep inside the Leeds penalty area, Danny Mills got in a foot to clear the danger.

But it was the home side who finally made the breakthrough two minutes after the restart when the unsighted Martyn could only push out McAteer's swerving drive and Arca pounced at the far post to poke home the rebound.

And there was even better to come on 55 minutes when Quinn chested down Williams' cross to Phillips, who hammered an unstoppable right-foot shot past Martyn and into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

The Wearsiders visibly grew in confidence as they sensed an end to their poor run, but the warning signs were still there and it took another fine block by Sorensen on 59 minutes to deny Keane after Eirik Bakke had found space on the right.

Keane's afternoon took a further turn for the worse on 68 minutes when he went down in the box under Bernt Haas' challenge only to find referee Graham Barber reaching for a yellow card rather than pointing to the penalty spot.

The Black Cats almost extended their lead two minutes later when McAteer rattled the crossbar with a free-kick from 25 yards but it was Leeds who rallied as time ran out.

Johnson warmed Sorensen's hands with a well-struck left-foot drive six minutes from time and went close again three minutes later, but the Wearsiders stood firm to avoid defeat against United for the first time in 12 attempts.

Teams:

Sunderland: Sorensen, Haas, Thome, Williams, Gray, Arca, McCann, Thirlwell, McAteer (McCartney 87), Quinn (Laslandes 69), Phillips.

Subs Not Used: Macho, Schwarz, Butler.

Booked: Quinn.

Goals: Arca 48, Phillips 55.

Leeds: Martyn, Harte, Matteo, Ferdinand, Mills, Johnson, Dacourt, Bakke, Batty, Smith, Keane.

Subs Not Used: Kelly, McPhail, Wilcox, Duberry, Robinson.

Booked: Mills, Keane, Smith.

Att: 48,005

Ref: G Barber (Tring).