One way or another this night was always going to be about Lee Bowyer. Five hours after the Leeds United midfielder accused of assault left the courtroom in Hull where his case is being heard, the 24-year-old ran on to an 86th-minute pass from Alan Smith to slide the ball through the legs of Zvonko Milojevic and give Leeds a victory that had seemed beyond reach after Alin Stoica had put Anderlecht in front just 20 minutes earlier.

Leeds were down then, their spiral of a season having apparently suffered another dismal twist, but, 17 minutes from the end, Ian Harte stood up to fire a direct free-kick past Milojevic and transfuse some hope of an unlikely home winner. That Bowyer should provide it was almost predictable.

He and Jonathan Woodgate, who was a substitute last night, made the 60 mile journey from Hull after yesterday's court session and, in terms of the result, fully justified their inclusion. Leeds now travel to Anderlecht next Wednesday in the knowledge that a victory in Belgium would virtually guarantee Leeds their place in the last eight.

Bowyer and Woodgate are unavailable for the Brussels return because of the court case, although Bowyer made sure he will not be playing by picking up a 90thminute booking. That means once he has served his suspension next Wednesday Bowyer could be available for selection later in the competition.

With Lazio on the verge of elimination after their 3-2 defeat in Madrid, Leeds are now in a most promising position, though winning at Anderlecht, where the hosts are unbeaten this season, will not be easy.

Defiantly impressive they may have been at home, but Anderlecht arrived at Elland Road on the back of some serious defeats on the roads of Europe this season. They let in five at Old Trafford in the first phase, four in Kiev and the same number in Madrid in December.

Yet Anderlecht have won their last six games in Belgium, taking them to the top of the table. It should not have been a surprise then that the visitors began with confidence. With Walter Baseggio nudging the ball around midfield it was only seven minutes before Nigel Martyn was forced into his first save - a 25-yard drive from Stoica - and just over 60 seconds later Anderlecht should have taken the lead.

Baseggio again initiated a move down the right. Bertrand Crasson was overlapping and, when Crasson slid in a low cross behind the retreating Leeds defence, Koller got to it first but only managed a feint touch. It was enough to take it beyond every Leeds player, but the deflection also took it an inch away from Bart Goor, unmarked at the far post.

Leeds were looking hesitant at the back. Gradually, though, Rio Ferdinand settled and Leeds moved forward. Bowyer was clearly the key man for his colleagues. Almost every time David Batty or Olivier Dacourt won the ball they fed Bowyer on the right as opposed to Dominic Matteo on the opposite flank. When Batty or Dacourt failed to win possession, Bowyer did the job on his own. But the Yorkshiremen's penetration was limited. It required a 30-yard effort from Harte in the 22nd minute to make Milojevic scramble across his line for a first time, although, with Anderlecht's defence displaying the same vulnerability as Leeds', Mark Viduka was then given the space to turn and shoot. Milojevic at full stretch tipped the ball away for a corner.

Before half-time Viduka had a better chance when supplied by Matteo, but Viduka ballooned his volley high into a crowd which by now was silent. Leeds' failure to engage their fans was one of the reasons for that but Anderlecht's neater, more intelligent build-up play was another. The Belgians would have scored one of the goals of the competition ten minutes before the interval had Yves Vanderhaeghe produced a more accurate finish to round off a superb slick pass and run movement featuring five players.

Despite part of Leeds' problem stemming from the similarity between Batty and Dacourt in midfield, and with Eirik Bakke on the bench, O'Leary resisted the temptation to switch personnel at halftime - Bakke came on in the 72nd minute. But O'Leary must have felt vindication when Leeds opened the second period with increased urgency, Dacourt and Viduka both having opportunities within five minutes of the re-start.

Viduka's was again set up by Matteo but that was the former Liverpool player's last involvement. To thunderous applause, Matteo was replaced by Kewell.

Kewell's impact was instant. Receiving a short pass on the corner of the Anderlecht area, with his second touch Kewell drilled a near-post shot through Crasson that rocked Milojevic back onto his heels. The volume inside Elland Road rose. From the resulting corner another smart Kewell touch released Bowyer and his cross nearly drifted into the Anderlecht net, Milojevic punching the ball off his own line as Smith closed in.

However the hope provided by those efforts disappeared in Anderlecht's first attack of the second half. Stoica, a nimble influence all evening, exchanged a slick one-two with Goor, evaded Batty's challenge, and sent Martyn the wrong way with a cool 12-yard finish.

The lead was to last only eight minutes. When Leeds were awarded a free-kick 20 yards out just to the left of Anderlecht's goal, it was perfect range for Harte. In theory. Harte turned the theoretical into reality with a crisp free-kick that bounced awkwardly as it flew past the dive of Milojevic. And that was a mere starter. With four minutes to go and the game stretched, Smith seized on a loose ball and palyed in Bower. Bower's fifth goal of this Championship League capmagin followed. No player on any team has more, although Koller should havs scored a 90th minute equaliser. But this night was not about Jan Koller. This was another of Leeds United tall European tales.

LEEDS: Martyn, Mills, Harte, Radebe, Ferdinand, Bowyer, Dacourt (Bakke 73), Batty, Matteo (Kewell 53), Smith, Viduka. Subs Not Used: Robinson, Woodgate, Wilcox, Burns. Booked: Bowyer. Goals: Harte 74, Bowyer 86.

ANDERLECHT: Milojevic, Crasson, Dheedene, Ilic, De Boeck, Vanderhaeghe, Stoica, Baseggio, Goor, Koller, Radzinski. Subs Not Used: Carlier, Van Diemen, Hasi, Pirard, Dindane, Youla, Traore. Booked: De Boeck. Goals: Stoica 65.

Referee: Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden).