Ross Stewart marked his return with a goal after three months out through injury. The Scotland international came off the bench to score his sixth goal of the season and put Sunderland ahead against Hull City at the MKM Stadium with 15 minutes remaining.
By that point, Sunderland had already had a lucky escape when Hull's Oscar Estupinan had missed the target from the penalty spot just after half-time, and the Black Cats were also down to ten men after Elliot Embleton was shown a straight red card on the hour. But Sunderland could not hold on to collect all three points, with Hull sub Ozan Tufan heading his side level eight minutes from the end.
Aside from the return of Stewart, Sunderland saw defender Dan Ballard make his comeback when he came on inside the opening quarter-hour to replace the injured Danny Batth. But there was also what looked like a serious injury for Embleton, who was stretchered off following the incident that led to his red card.
