A brace from Charlie Wyke and a Chris Maguire handed the Black Cats victory after they had fallen behind to a long-range Lewis Alessandra effort.
But who were the star performers against the Cumbrians, and who has work to do ahead of the League One restart on September 12? Scroll down and click through the pages as Phil Smith dishes out his merit marks:
5. Conor McLaughlin
Should have scored early on after making an excellent early run, only to find his header well blocked by the goalkeeper. Comfortable in defence and made some decent forays forward. 6 Photo: Frank Reid
6. Jack Diamond
A fascinating cameo from the forward in an unfamiliar role as a left wing-back. There was a delightful early cross that should have been converted by Conor McLaughlin, and another that almost yielded an equaliser from Aiden O’Brien. In between there were moments where he was guilty of holding on to the ball for too long and just lacking an end product. 6 Photo: Frank Reid
7. Josh Scowen
Sunderland’s most accomplished player during what was a very pedestrian first hour. Played some excellent early passes and broke up play well on a number of occasions. Very impressive after a good cameo on Saturday. 7 Photo: Frank Reid
8. Max Power
Made some good challenges to snuff out a couple of Carlisle attacks, and was typically disciplined in front of the defence. 6 Photo: Frank Reid