Stan Collymore brushed off fresh flak from his critics to fire Leicester City to victory with a magnificent hat-trick.

The troubled striker lashed his side into the lead with an 18th-minute rocket - his first Premiership goal since November 1998 - and then added a cheeky second-half header and a close-range finish to prove that he can still do it on the pitch.

Collymore's performance was the high point of an entertaining game which Leicester could, and perhaps should, have won comfortably.

But they were pushed all the way by a Sunderland side desperate for a result. Peter Reid's men were able to create and take enough chances to make the result unsure until Collymore's late third.

The striker's first goal and a neat finish from strike partner Emile Heskey gave O'Neill's men a comfortable half-time lead, but the warning signs were there as Sunderland twice hit the bar.

Phillips reduced the deficit within eight minutes of the restart, and after Collymore had made it 3-1, Niall Quinn kept his side's heads above water with a 76th-minute strike.

But that simply served to set the stage for the former Aston Villa striker's coup de grace - his hat-trick goal which was greeted with understandable delight by the Filbert Street faithful.

Substitute Stefan Oakes made it 5-2 in injury time but there was only one man looking for the match ball on the final whistle.

Collymore was included at the expense of Tony Cottee, who had to make do with a seat on the bench, while Darren Eadie also returned in place of Stefan Oakes.

Sunderland made three changes to the side which drew 1-1 with Derby County last weekend, with Darren Holloway, Chris Makin and Stefan Schwarz coming in for Darren Williams, Michael Gray and Paul Thirlwell.

The game had been billed as a showdown between England hopefuls Heskey and Kevin Phillips, but it was the support the respective strikers got from their team-mates which made the difference in the early stages.

And while Heskey caused havoc throughout, he had to take a back seat initially as Collymore ensured himself headlines for the right reasons with a superb strike.

Leicester had enjoyed the better of the early stages when, with 18 minutes gone, Heskey flicked on Gerry Taggart's long ball and Collymore smashed home a right-foot volley which gave Thomas Sorensen in the Sunderland goal no chance.

The goal sparked something of a response from the Wearsiders and Phillips saw a 25th-minute snapshot dip just over with Tim Flowers struggling to make his ground.

If the Sunderland bench, one man lighter after assistant manager Bobby Saxton was sent packing by referee Neale Barry after five minutes, suspected that their luck was out, that feeling was confirmed on 33 minutes when Kevin Kilbane saw his deflected free-kick come back off the bar.

Leicester rubbed salt into the wounds 10 minutes before the break when Neil Lennon robbed Chris Makin on halfway and fed Heskey, who needed no second invitation to rifle the ball past Sorensen.

The woodwork came to the home side's rescue once again five minutes later when Alex Rae's cross hit Matt Elliott and ballooned up on to the bar.

Muzzy Izzet had a golden opportunity to make it 3-0 before half-time when Steve Guppy picked him out with a pinpoint cross, but his header flew a yard over.

Sunderland boss Peter Reid shuffled his pack at the break when he brought on Nicky Summerbee in place of Holloway and opted for a more rigid three-man defence.

With less than a minute of the half gone, Flowers had to get down well to keep out Rae's shot after Quinn had flicked on Jody Craddock's long ball, and it took a superb tackle from Darren Eadie to deny Kevin Kilbane after he and Phillips linked well from Sorensen's quick throw-out.

But the Wearsiders were back in it on 53 minutes when Taggart's defensive header fell nicely for Phillips, and he span to thump a low shot past Flowers for his 24th Premiership goal of the season.

Lennon and Heskey both went into Mr Barry's notebook in quick succession as Leicester faltered momentarily, but they regained their composure quickly and looked to have killed off the game with 61 minutes gone.

Lennon's driven ball into the box found Collymore 16 yards out, but his audacious header caught Sorensen by surprise as it dropped into the far corner.

Guppy should have tied up the points 18 minutes from time after Izzet put him in on goal, but he dragged his effort just wide of the post.

The miss seemed to inspire Sunderland once again, and they grabbed another lifeline on 76 minutes when Quinn expertly controlled Schwarz's pass to beat Sinclair and then side-stepped Elliott before shooting past Flowers to make it 3-2.

Reid's side piled forward in the hunt for an equaliser as time ran out, but Collymore made it four as he stabbed home from close range three minutes from time from Heskey's cross.

Oakes' late free-kick proved the icing on the cake as Leicester's party continued.

Teams:

Leicester: Flowers, Sinclair, Taggart, Guppy, Savage, Elliott, Izzet, Lennon, Eadie (Oakes 56), Collymore, Heskey.

Subs Not Used: Gilchrist, Arphexad, Impey, Cottee.

Booked: Lennon, Heskey.

Goals: Collymore 17, Heskey 34, Collymore 60, 87, Oakes 90.

Sunderland: Sorensen, Holloway (Summerbee 45), Makin, P. Butler, Craddock, Rae, Roy (Oster 71), Schwarz, Kilbane, Quinn, Phillips.

Subs Not Used: Marriott, Williams, Gray.

Booked: Quinn, Kilbane.

Goals: Phillips 53, Quinn 75.

Att: 20,432

Ref: N Barry (Scunthorpe).