American international Claudio Reyna paid off a large chunk of his £4.5million transfer fee when he smashed home a precious double to bank three Premiership points for Sunderland.

The former Rangers midfielder struck twice within 14 minutes early in the first half either side of Matt Elliott's equaliser to condemn Leicester to yet another defeat and ease the Wearsiders' relegation fears.

It was just reward for a Sunderland side that played some of their best football for months, although they were forced to hang on for dear life as the seemingly doomed Foxes scrapped every inch of the way.

In truth, the Black Cats had enough clear-cut chances to seal the visitors' fate long before the final whistle, but their failure to do so - Kevin Phillips in particular will have been disappointed not to add to his season's tally - gave Leicester hope until the end.

Reyna's goals took him to third place in his club's scoring stakes on three, perhaps a measure of their problems in the opposition penalty area this season.

The sides went into the game 16th and 20th respectively in the Premiership table and with just 47 league goals between them - the Wearsiders having collected just one more than their opponents - the reason for their troubles was not difficult to see.

Peter Reid went back to basics in a bid to improve upon that statistic as he restored his tried and tested strike force of Phillips and Niall Quinn, although Dave Bassett countered by including fit-again defender Gary Rowett for his first start in almost six months because of injury.

The omens were not good for an afternoon of free-flowing football, and it was a pleasant surprise, therefore, when the game exploded into life almost from the first whistle.

Sunderland went back to basics as they resorted to the well-rehearsed ploy of getting the ball wide and throwing in to the frontmen as often and as early as possible.

But it was the confidence they showed in their general play which will have been most pleasing for a manager who has been bewildered by the lack of belief shown by his men at times over the last few troubled weeks.

That they were able to throw off their shackles was largely due to the contribution of Reyna, who not only helped to boss the midfield battle alongside Gavin McCann, but provided the cutting edge which they have lacked recently.

Just three minutes had gone when he hammered a left-foot shot past Ian Walker from 20 yards as the Foxes defence failed to clear the ball, and the game was only 17 minutes old when he drove a blistering 22 yard free-kick home to take his tally for the season to three.

In the meantime, however, the Wearsiders suffered a temporary crisis when keeper Thomas Sorensen could only parry Elliott's seventh-minute header on to the post and look on in despair as the ball cannoned back off his leg for Dickov to dispatch it, although television replays suggested that it had already crossed the line.

However, once Reyna had restored the lead, it was the Black Cats who dominated, Walker saving well from Kevin Kilbane after Frank Sinclair's mistake and then turning a Phillips volley away at full stretch.

However, he was beaten two minutes before the break when Reyna sniffed a hat-trick with a dipping volley, but the woodwork came to his rescue, much to the American's disappointment.

In a whirlwind start to the second-half, Jason McAteer and Stefan Oakes both forced good saves from the respective goalkeepers, but it was Phillips who had the best chance to get his name on to the scoresheet.

McAteer's crossed from the right dropped over a defenders head and directly to his feet, but he could not get his shot away quickly enough and when he finally did, his effort lacked power.

Phillips had another clear opening on 65 minutes when McCann played him in over the top, but when he tried to lift the ball over the advancing Walker, the keeper threw out a hand to keep his side in contention.

As Sunderland committed men to attack, Leicester opted for a direct approach with Deane and Dickov snapping at defenders and defender Jon Ashton hurling a series of long throws deep into the penalty area.

But it was Lee Marshall who set up Dickov 14 minutes from time with a cross from the right, although Jody Craddock's desperate block took the pace off his low drive.

The visitors kept going until the final kick of the game, and there were hearts in Sunderland mouths in injury time when Elliott deflected a shot wide of Sorensen's right post, but the whistle arrived in time.

Teams:

Sunderland: Sorensen, Gray, Craddock, Bjorklund, Williams, Kilbane, Reyna (Thirlwell 85), McCann, McAteer, Phillips, Quinn.

Subs Not Used: Macho, McCartney, Butler, Mboma.

Booked: Williams, Gray, Kilbane.

Goals: Reyna 3, 18.

Leicester: Walker, Sinclair, Rowett, Elliott, Marshall, Reeves (Stevenson 73), Savage, Izzet (Ashton 29), Oakes (Piper 61), Deane, Dickov.

Subs Not Used: Price, Heath.

Booked: Dickov, Deane.

Goals: Dickov 9.

Att: 44,950

Ref: N Barry (Scunthorpe).