A bumper crowd of 38,395 packed into the Stadium of Light despite Sunderland being without a manager and on a poor run of form.
Yet Jermain Defoe’s second debut for the club was overshadowed by a deflating 2-1 defeat against bottom of the table Doncaster Rovers, a result which hammered another big dent into the Black Cats’ automatic promotion hopes.
And top-scorer Ross Stewart, who has notched 18 times so far this season, has now gone four matches without a goal.
Jay Matete was also brought on towards the end for his Sunderland debut after arriving from Fleetwood Town on deadline day.
Here, though, we take a look at the best photos of Sunderland fans throughout the day.
Can you spot anybody that you know? Let us know on our social media channels.
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5. Sing your hearts out!
Sunderland fans in action at the Stadium of Light against Doncaster Rovers. Photo: Martin Swinney
6. Watching the game
It was a 2-0 defeat for Sunderland in League One against Donny Photo: Martin Swinney
8. Poor
A poor performance from Sunderland in front of a bumper crowd. Photo: Martin Swinney