HULL CITY 1 Meyler (82) SUNDERLAND 1 Vaughan (17)
SUBSTITUTE David Meyler scored a late equaliser against former club Sunderland to earn Hull a draw at the KCOM Stadium.
James Vaughan opened the scoring with his first goal for the Black Cats, before Meyler secured a share of the spoils with eight minutes remaining.
Sunderland ended a four-game losing streak in the Championship, while Hull’s run of two games without a win was also halted.
The hosts began reasonably brightly before becoming more subdued as the first half wore on.
Markus Henriksen had an opening after seven minutes, but his low effort was beaten away by Robbin Ruiter, denying Nouha Dicko the chance to pounce.
Sunderland gradually gained a foothold and their first attempt came when Didier Ndong tried a speculative 35-yard effort in the 16th minute.
Moments later they were ahead, when Callum McManaman’s cross was nodded home by an unmarked Vaughan.
The former Everton man was booked for removing the corner flag in celebration, but the 29-year-old was happy enough to have notched his first goal for the club in his 10th appearance.
He could have added a second on the half-hour mark, but for a good save from Allan McGregor as Sunderland began to grow in confidence.
The best Hull could muster for the remainder of the first half was a Sebastian Larsson freekick, which deflected off one of his team-mates and out for a goal kick.
Meyler and Jon Toral were brought on by Hull boss Leonid Slutsky at the start of the second half and the impact was a much faster tempo.
The Tigers almost equalised after 53 minutes when Ola Aina’s cross found Kamil Grosicki at the back post, but his header was tipped wide by Ruiter.
Toral headed another fine Aina cross wide on the hour mark as Hull continued to press.
Sunderland still posed a threat on the break, as McManaman proved with a weaving run and left-footed shot that was saved by McGregor. Vaughan’s attempt on the rebound hit a cluster of Hull defenders.
The Tigers brought on former Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell, and his first meaningful bit of action saw him curl a 25-yard shot over the bar after 73 minutes.
Campbell also headed over from close range before teeing up Meyler with eight minutes remaining to equalise, the Republic of Ireland midfielder drawing Hull level with a deflected shot from 12 yards.