Leeds young guns Alan Smith and Harry Kewell shot down former boss George Graham as Tottenham's 16-match unbeaten run came crashing to an end.

The victory was also a welcome tonic for returning hero David Batty, playing his first senior game after enduring a torrid three months on the sidelines with a broken rib.

But it was payback time after Leeds had crashed out of the FA Cup to Spurs just two weeks ago when spectacular goals from Darren Anderton and David Ginola put paid to United's Wembley dreams.

The win was particularly sweet for the supporters, who bitterly resented Graham's departure for White Hart Lane at the end of September.

The 54-year-old Scot, however, has worked miracles at the north London giants in his five months in charge, guiding them to the Worthington Cup final and the sixth round of the FA Cup.

Marshalled around a typically resilient defence, with Sol Campbell at the heart, Tottenham finally crumbled as Leeds made it four Premiership wins in succession.

For manager David O'Leary, he proved he is no longer the apprentice after learning so much during his tutelage under Graham at both Arsenal and Elland Road.

The goals - on 42 and 68 minutes - allowed Leeds to cement their fourth place, five points adrift of Chelsea and four clear of Aston Villa, and with a place in Europe now firmly in their sights.

But it was obvious there was no love lost between the two sides, their third encounter in 25 days after the two FA Cups games, with a venomous first half providing ample testimony of the depth of ill-feeling.

The heated skirmishes threatened to boil over on many occasions, while a furious O'Leary was up out of the dug-out gesticulating and protesting vehemently at the linesman and his decisions.

It tested the patience of fourth official Steve Lodge, who was twice forced to speak with O'Leary, with assistant Eddie Gray also having to step in at one point to placate matters.

Ironically, the first incident and booking was sparked by Batty and his challenge on Tim Sherwood which earned him his fifth yellow card of the season and a one-match ban.

O'Leary had indicated the 30-year-old had no chance of playing tonight with just 150 minutes of reserve-team action under his belt in the last week.

But Batty was back in the side for the first time since his second debut for the club in mid-December following his £4.4million move from Newcastle.

The England midfielder had endured a torrid rehabilitation period as he was expected to only be out of action for a month, but plans for a comeback were twice put on hold.

Complications surrounding the original injury, with Batty bruising the lining of his heart, led to long periods of rest which was prescribed as the only cure.

His impact, however, was immediate and he will now miss the Elland Road clash with Nottingham Forest on April 3 along with Norwegian international Alfie Haaland, who was the fourth name to be taken during the opening 45 minutes.

In between, Sherwood followed Batty into the book of referee Neale Barry for a cynical foul on Lee Bowyer on the edge of the area.

Worse was to follow as Sherwood stamped on the prone midfielder as he ran across to Barry to protest, to the fury of the United fans, but neither the Scunthorpe official nor his linesman spotted the incident.

It resulted in a Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink free-kick which only just whistled past the right-hand post of Ian Walker.

Steffen Freund should have joined Sherwood moments later, with Bowyer again the victim, a challenge which sparked a melee in the centre circle - with Batty at the heart of it.

Barry kept his card in his pocket on this occasion, but German international Freund was soon in the book in the 23rd minute as he clipped the heel of Hasselbaink - as innocuous as the foul on Bowyer was obvious.

Three minutes before the break Leeds cut through the Spurs defence as Hasselbaink's flick found a clean-through Kewell.

The Australian international's point-blank shot was blocked by a brave Walker, only for Smith to hook home from six yards for his seventh goal of the season.

Cries of "Judas, Judas what's the score" were aimed at Graham, with the same chant following Kewell's ninth this term when he rose to head home a Haaland cross from the right midway through the second half.

One of the key moments for Leeds came just before the break when Nigel Martyn pulled off a magnificent double save from Sherwood and Steffen Iversen.

In an action-packed clash there was even time for Lodge to replace Barry towards the end, with the latter official having suffered a knee injury.

As chants of "O'Leary, O'Leary" echoed around Elland Road at the final whistle the Irishman raised a clenched fist in salute and shook the hand of every Leeds player as they left the pitch.

It showed just how much this win meant to him.

Teams

Leeds: Martyn, Woodgate, Wetherall, Radebe, Harte, Haaland, Batty, Bowyer, Smith, Hasselbaink, Kewell.

Subs Not Used: Wijnhard, Halle, McPhail, Jones, Robinson.

Booked: Batty, Haaland.

Goals: Smith 42, Kewell 68.

Tottenham: Walker, Carr, Campbell, Young, Edinburgh, Anderton (Nielsen 75), Sherwood, Freund, Ginola (Sinton 75), Iversen (Ferdinand 75), Armstrong.

Subs Not Used: Vega, Baardsen.

Booked: Sherwood, Freund, Young.

Att: 34,521

Ref: N Barry (Scunthorpe).