A poor run of form had seen the Black Cats drift towards mid-table, and with both sides appearing to have little to play for, one could be forgiven for thinking that entertainment may be in short supply on Wearside.
However, this enthralling contest quickly captured the imagination in a madcap first half. The Tigers struck first courtesy of Tufan, who arched his run perfectly to meet Regan Slater’s through ball and lashed a finish past Karl Darlow with just 11 minutes on the clock.
Liam Rosenior’s side then saw their lead completely evaporate when two goals in as many minutes turned the match on its head. Jack Clarke scuffed his attempted finish from Amad Diallo’s cross and allowed Joe Gelhardt to take the mantle and fired home from close range.
Then, only a minute later, Amad swept the ball past Karl Darlow to give Sunderland the lead. However, this incredible contest took yet another twist when Hull restored parity to the scoreline before the break, as Allahyar Sayyadmanesh’s stunning first-time finish clipped in off the bar after Anthony Patterson thwarted Dimitrios Pelkas.
The Black Cats made the brighter start after the interval, but it was Hull that retook the lead in this topsy-turvy encounter, as Slater outmuscled Trai Hume on the byline and rifled the ball past Patterson from a tight angle, marking his 150th career appearance in some style.
But some more questionable defending proved to be Hull’s undoing again when Alfie Jones pushed Clarke down inside the box and Sunderland were awarded a penalty. Amad netted his second of the match from the spot, despite Darlow getting two hands to the ball, much to his frustration.
Darlow redeemed himself somewhat to keep the scores level with an outstanding save to deny Hume’s close-range strike, which had the man himself and Tony Mowbray in disbelief.
But the Black Cats’ frustration was erased seconds later thanks to Clarke, who added a fourth for Sunderland at the end of a sublime move after being teed up by Patrick Roberts.
Clarke should have netted a second after being brilliantly played in by Amad, and that miss proved costly as Pierre Ekwah brought down Slater to concede a penalty deep into stoppage time.
Tufan converted, scoring his second to salvage Hull a point with the last kick of the game. It was yet another damaging result for Sunderland, leaving them six points adrift of the play-off places with just six games remaining.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jack Clarke (Sunderland)
