Michael Beale brought in Jenson Seelt to replace the injured Niall Huggins for the clash with Bradley Dack coming in for Abdoullah Ba after his costly miss against Coventry City. Chris Rigg was not named on the bench but Sunderland were boosted by the returns of Alex Pritchard and summer signing Timothee Pembele to their substitutes.
The Black Cats won the game courtesy of a Jack Clarke drive and shot in the second half, handing Beale his first win as Sunderland manager.
Here, we take a look at Phil Smith’s Sunderland player ratings after the match against Hull City in the Championship:
9. Jack Clarke
Never stopped trying to take on his full back and got his reward with yet another goal in this excellent campaign. Drove past his marker before firing a crucial drive into the bottom corner. 8 Photo: FRANK REID
10. Jobe
Didn’t get much of a sight of goal but put in a really big shift from box to box. Never stopped running and made some important defensive contributions. Huge effort given his workload this season. 7 Photo: FRANK REID
11. Bradley Dack
Played one or two neat passes and had one shooting chance but didn’t have much of a chance to impact the game before being withdrawn five minutes before the break with what looks to be a muscle issue. 5 Photo: Jess Hornby
12. Adil Aouchiche
Some nice touches and went close with one effort that flew wide of the post. 6 Photo: Getty