Ozan Tufan rescued a point for Hull as they came from behind to draw 1-1 with 10-men Sunderland at the MKM Stadium.
The midfielder was the man who lost the ball in the build-up to Ross Stewart’s opener for Sunderland in the 74th minute, with the forward breaking free to slot the ball home on his return from injury.
But Tufan’s goal spared some blushes for the home side, who had the numerical advantage for most of the second half following Elliot Embleton’s red card, as he poked a Ryan Woods cross home with just eight minutes remaining.
The draw leaves Tony Mowbray’s Sunderland just three points shy of the Championship play-off places, while Hull remain two points above the bottom three.
Bolstered by the return of their star striker Oscar Estupinan, it was the home side who started the brighter, forcing Anthony Patterson into the first save of the afternoon by hooking away a bouncing Jean Michael Seri cross before Estupinan could get a toe on it.
The Tigers were keeping the ball well and looked on top, but they were given a warning in the 19th minute by Lynden Gooch, who was allowed to advance into the area and force Sean McLoughlin into making a well-timed block.
It was the Black Cats who engineered the best chance of what would ultimately be a goalless first half. Latching on to a smart through-ball, Ellis Simms had the strength to hold off McLoughlin and burst into the City box.
However, he could not hold his nerve in front of goal, scooping the ball wide of Matt Ingram’s left post.
The Tigers were given a golden opportunity to open the scoring in the opening minutes of the second half as Daniel Ballard brought Regan Slater down in the area, giving the referee no choice to point to the spot.
Estupinan, though, could not hit the target, rolling a tame effort wide, much to the delight of the large Sunderland following.
The referee was called into action just a few minutes later as he dismissed Embleton, who left the field on a stretcher, following a reckless challenge on Ryan Woods in the 59th minute.
Hull immediately set about making the most of their numerical advantage as Slater and Estupinan went close.
But, after being sliced open by a long ball over the top from Patrick Roberts, they could only watch on as substitute Stewart rolled a finish beyond Ingram to give the Black Cats a hard fought lead against the odds.
The Tigers hit back, though, as Tufan escaped his man and managed to hook Woods’ cross beyond Patterson in the 82nd minute to ensure the spoils were shared in East Yorkshire.
