Richard Dunne's own goal handed Sunderland a first Premier League victory in six attempts as Aston Villa were made to pay for missed chances.
Dunne turned Steed Malbranque's 25th-minute cross past goalkeeper Brad Friedel to ensure the points remained on Wearside and end the home side's run of five successive league draws.
But Villa would have left the north-east, where they lost 6-0 to Newcastle on their last visit, with something to show for their efforts had striker Emile Heskey not passed up a glorious second-half chance.
Stewart Downing had earlier hit the woodwork and substitute Marc Albrighton forced a good save from keeper Simon Mignolet as the visitors, who had won on their last three visits to the Stadium of Light, staged a late fightback.
However, the Wearsiders' resilience, with Titus Bramble once again a rock at the back, provided the foundation for just a second league victory of the campaign in front of a crowd of 41,506.
Sunderland's over-reliance on Darren Bent's goals has become a theme for manager Steve Bruce in recent weeks, and it is not difficult to see why.
Of the 10 goals they had managed before today, Bent had contributed seven and record signing Asamoah Gyan two, with Stephen Carr's own goal making up the total.
Bruce has challenged the rest of his team to help out on that front, and when they got their noses in front this afternoon, it was, for once, not Bent who did the damage.
It will have mattered little to Sunderland that the decisive touch on Malbranque's 25th-minute cross came from Villa defender Dunne, who in the process put own goals level with Gyan as the club's second top scorer.
Up until that point, there had been little between the sides - indeed, the visitors might themselves had been in front had Downing's third minute shot not come back off the foot of the post.
Nigel Reo-Coker had also seen a strong penalty appeal waved away by referee Mark Halsey after he had gone down under the close attentions of Lee Cattermole and Bramble, while Nedum Onuoha's well-timed 16th-minute challenge prevented Stephen Ireland from reaching Heskey's dangerous cross in front of goal.
But once Dunne had inadvertently broken the deadlock, the impetus was very much with the home side, and they might have increased their lead within two minutes. Ahmed Elmohamady found space down the right and squared for Danny Welbeck, whose first-time shot was expertly palmed away by goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
Elmohamady himself whistled a right-foot effort just wide three minutes before the break after being set up by Bent, and although Villa finished the half with a flurry, Mignolet was rarely troubled.
The Belgian should really have been called into action three minutes after the restart when Heskey turned Michael Turner on halfway and fed the ball into Ireland's run. However, the midfielder checked inside as he reached the penalty area and the covering Bramble did just enough to dispossess him.
Mignolet was called upon two minutes later after Ashley Young collected Downing's pass and forced a solid save, although as the game became more stretched, the Wearsiders were finding space at the other end too.
But Villa were starting to make their presence felt and they went close to an equaliser three times within as many minutes.
First Heskey was dispossessed by the covering Bramble in front of goal, although the former England strike was guilty of a glaring miss seconds later when he completely missed his kick after Downing's cross evaded Mignolet.
The Sunderland keeper then had to claw substitute Steve Sidwell's 63rd-minute header off the line with the home defence struggling to clear their lines.
Mignolet was in action again with 19 minutes remaining to beat away Albrighton's shot, and Dunne hacked a volley across the face of goal seconds later with Villa dominating.
But despite a late flurry, the home side held out to claim all three points with Dunne denying Bent a late strike with a well-timed tackle.
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was pleased to see his side extend their unbeaten run to seven Premier League games, and he also expressed his satisfaction with the quality of his squad.
"Seven games unbeaten in the Premier League takes some doing," Bruce said. "No matter who you play against, so there is a bit of resilience.
"We invested heavily in the back four and the goalkeeper and when I look behind me and I have got four people who played in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, and I have got Britain's most expensive goalkeeper sitting behind me too.
"We have got a really good look about us, so I am pleased. There's a resilience about us, which was the first thing I wanted to try to address when we came here."
Gerard Houllier was at a loss to explain how his team failed to get anything out the game, having created numerous chances. He also suffered a blow as captain Stiliyan Petrov was forced off with suspected knee ligament damage.
"I am very disappointed with the result," Houllier said. "We should, as a reward at least, have got one goal and probably got a draw.
"I thought we started well. Our morale probably went down when we conceded that own goal because we had a bit of a slump, but the second half was night and day with the first half.
"We were quicker, better, sharper and created chance after chance, but unfortunately we didn't manage to put the ball in the back of the net. This is my only regret because I was pleased with the effort of the players and their reaction.
The Frenchman believes the injury suffered by Petrov may have contributed to his team's defeat.
"Don't forget, we also lost our captain very quickly and there were a few things that happened that probably affected the team mentally.
"But after that, the reaction was good and the football was better in the second half. Obviously, we exposed ourselves a couple of times with breaks, but that's normal. I like a team that tries right to the end."
Reflecting on Dunne's own goal, Houllier said he has already spoken to the Irish defender about it.
"I told him, 'Don't worry, that happens, you will probably win games for us'. It was a bit sad, but that happens in football."
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