Goals from Luke O'Nien and Aiden McGeady saw off Ipswich Town as Sunderland ended their losing streak.
O'Nien headed home from a corner five minutes from time at the Stadium of Light, before sub McGeady converted from the penalty spot in injury-time after a handball decision against Aristote Nsiala.
And that victory brought the Black Cats' run of three League One defeats to an end, and lifted the Wearsiders back into the play-off spots.
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Here's how James Hunter rated the Black Cats players.
Thorben Hoffmann 7
Made several saves in the first half to keep Sunderland in the game
Carl Winchester 7
Excellent at right-back, before moving into midfield later in the game
Bailey Wright 6
Did OK on his first start since early October
Callum Doyle 6
A couple of misplaced passes, but generally did pretty well alongside Wright
Luke O'Nien 7
Did a job at left-back, and scored the all-important breakthrough goal
Corry Evans 6
Got caught up in a running battle in the middle of the park
Dan Neil 6
Worked hard, although too many passes went astray
Elliot Embleton 5
Made little impact and it was no surprise when he was substituted
Lynden Gooch 6
Never stopped trying to drive Sunderland forward, although his crossing could have been better
Nathan Broadhead 7
Always offered an outlet in the final third, even if Sunderland carried little threat for most of the match
Ross Stewart 6
Couldn't make the chance count that came his way in the first half, but he did win a controversial penalty at the death
Subs
Aiden McGeady 7
For Embleton 62mins. Scored the penalty and Sunderland looked better from open play when he came on
Alex Pritchard N/A
For Evans 76mins.
Leon Dajaku N/A
For Broadhead 80mins.
Not used: Patterson, Flanagan, Alves, O'Brien
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