Lee Bowyer scored for his moment in front of the Leeds fans, but Nolberto Solano was the hero as Newcastle moved three points clear at the top with a last-gasp 4-3 win.

The Peruvian scuttled through on Ian Harte's blind side in the final minute and sent Kieron Dyer's inviting pass beyond Nigel Martyn to give an incredible game a fitting climax.

The Magpies were the last side to defeat Leeds at Elland Road - back in January - and they brought their year full circle in thrilling fashion having looked dead and buried at 3-1 down 10 minutes into the second half.

After Bowyer had equalised Craig Bellamy's 11th of the season within the minute, Mark Viduka turned skilfully on to a Seth Johnson pass and bent a 50th-minute strike past Given, before Harte put them in an apparently comfortable position from 20 yards, with visiting defenders scrambling to get out of the way.

But Robbie Elliott's head was first to the rebound after Dyer's shot was blocked by Martyn just before the hour and Alan Shearer scored his second penalty in a week after Eirik Bakke had handled to begin the comeback.

Robson continues to insist sagely that Newcastle cannot win a relentlessly topsy-turvy title race, and in patches his side did look like a mid-table outfit, but they poured forward with spirit and verve and have now taken six points in a week from two supposedly genuine contenders - Leeds and Arsenal.

They edged in front after 38 minutes of anti-climactic fare which had seen an exchange of poor headers from Gary Speed and Viduka as the only chances of note.

Dyer easily waltzed past a weighty-looking Harte and squared across the six-yard box to give the advancing Bellamy a simple finish.

They deserved the lead, but there was an air of inevitability about the next few seconds, as Bowyer latched on to a Viduka pass and outwitted Nikos Dabizas before sliding the ball under Shay Given.

Predictably, Bowyer was treated as a returning hero by the Elland Road faithful, but if he is now to be judged on purely his footballing ability, then his claims to a place in Sven Goran Eriksson's World Cup squad were overshadowed by a member of the opposition.

Dyer played for 90 minutes and was heavily involved throughout as he looked every bit the player he was before his shin problems. He burst through on both channels with intelligence and speed, passing without a hint of waste.

If Dyer can stay fit, not only is he a certainty for Korea/ Japan, but he may yet deliver to Newcastle what their manager continues to insist is the undeliverable.

Man of the match: Kieron Dyer (Newcastle) - A constant menace.

Leeds: Martyn, Kelly, Ferdinand, Mills, Harte, Bowyer, Batty, Johnson, Jewell (Bakke 47), Viduka, Fowler.
Subs Not Used: Widget, Keane, Robinson, Smith.
Booked: Viduka, Kelly.
 
Newcastle: Given, Hughes, O'Brien, Dabizas (Disunite 45), Elliott, Solano, Dyer, Speed, Robert (Bernard 78), Shearer, Bellamy (Lua-Lua 90).
Subs Not Used: Acura, Harper.
Booked: Elliott.
 
Att: 40,287
Ref: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees)

Opta Index (Match Stats)

Leeds	Team	Newcastle
3	Goals	4
4	Shots On Target (inc Goals)	7
8	Shots Off Target	7
5	Blocked Shots	4
2	Corners	8
19	Fouls Conceded	19
19	Fouls Won	18
0	Offsides	2
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0