Ozan Tufan secured a third successive draw for Hull City in dramatic style by converting a penalty with the last kick of the game in a 4-4 draw at SunderlandOzan Tufan's last-gasp penalty earned Hull City a point and dented Sunderland's Championship play-off ambitions as the sides shared an epic 4-4 draw at the Stadium of Light.
In a thriller between two teams who had drawn each of their previous three encounters with one another, Jack Clarke set up two of Sunderland's goals and looked to have struck a composed 81st-minute winner to keep the Black Cats' hopes of extending their season alive.
After Pierre Ekwah caught Hull's Regan Slater inside the penalty area deep into second-half stoppage time, Tufan courageously stepped up to score with the last kick of a game that will go down as one of the Championship's most memorable.
Hull's hopes of ending their six-match winless away run came to life when they twice took the lead, scoring the opener in slick style when Tufan finished a flowing passage of play to give Leroy Rosenior's side an early advantage.
Slater, who had set up Tufan's opener, should have put City two ahead when he blasted a glorious chance straight at Anthony Patterson, and the midfielder was swiftly punished when Joe Gelhardt swept in an equaliser from Sunderland's subsequent attack.
Sunderland's persistent press paid off once more when they again won possession in a dangerous area a minute later, allowing Clarke to tee up Amad Diallo inside the penalty area to make it 2-1.
The rapid flurry of goals continued as Hull struck back through Allahyar Sayyadmanesh's ruthless finish, crashing a first-time shot in off the crossbar from the rebound when Patterson's brave save from Dimitrios Pelkas' effort fell to him at a tricky angle.
Midfielder Slater atoned for his first-half wastefulness by holding off Trai Hume, narrowly keeping the ball in play on the byline and cutting inside to restore City's lead with a fierce strike as the scoring resumed 21 minutes after the break.
Just when Hull looked on course for a first win in eight editions of the fixture in the league, Sunderland won a penalty when Clarke was bundled to the ground by Alfie Jones.
Diallo converted via goalkeeper Karl Darlow's fingertips, claiming his 11th goal of the season to move level with Charlton pair Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Miles Leaburn as the leading marksman aged under 21 in the English Football League.
Winger Clarke showed comparable composure to complete an incisive move with nine minutes of regular time remaining in front of an enthralled home crowd.
Sunderland would have scored a fifth but for Clarke swiping wildly when he was set up by Diallo, only for Tufan to score his second and send Hull level on points with 16th-placed Birmingham City, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
The fourth successive draw in the league between these sides left Sunderland six points adrift of Blackburn Rovers, who occupy the final play-off place, and have a nine-goal inferiority to Tony Mowbray's team.
Hull boss Liam Rosenior told BBC Radio Humberside:
"I'm lost for words. The first 20-to-25 minutes was everything I want to see in a team of mine. Then we get so complacent and confident that we gift them two goals out of absolutely nothing. We showed persistence and resilience to get back in the game and went 3-2 up through an unbelievable goal from Regan.
"This game probably sums up our season - it was nowhere near a [Sunderland] penalty. Then we go back on the front foot, give a cheap pass away and, three passes later from a throw-in, it's in our goal and we're chasing the game.
"That's one of the most enjoyable games I've been a part of. Tony showed so much class - just before we took the penalty, he said 'you don't deserve to lose the game.' Hopefully we enjoy ourselves with three points in the bag in future."
More to follow.
Line-ups
Sunderland
Formation 4-2-3-1
1Patterson
32Hume13O'Nien6Batth11Gooch
24Neil25Michut
10Roberts16Diallo20Clarke
28Gelhardt
1Patterson32Hume13O'Nien6Batth11Gooch24Neil25MichutSubstituted forEkwahat 75'minutes10Roberts16Diallo20Clarke28GelhardtSubstituted forPritchardat 75'minutesSubstitutes
3Cirkin12Bass17Ba21Pritchard22Lihadji39Ekwah45AndersonHull
Formation 4-4-2
12Darlow
2Coyle5Jones17McLoughlin4Greaves
9Sayyadmanesh24Seri27Slater20Pelkas
18Traoré7Tufan
12Darlow2CoyleSubstituted forElderat 65'minutesBooked at 83mins5Jones17McLoughlin4Greaves9SayyadmaneshBooked at 34minsSubstituted forEbioweiat 86'minutes24SeriSubstituted forLongmanat 86'minutes27Slater20PelkasSubstituted forDochertyat 58'minutes18Traoré7TufanSubstitutes
1Ingram3Elder8Docherty10Ebiowei15Woods16Longman35SimonsLive Text
Match ends, Sunderland 4, Hull City 4.
Second Half ends, Sunderland 4, Hull City 4.
Goal! Sunderland 4, Hull City 4. Ozan Tufan (Hull City) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Luke O'Nien (Sunderland).
Penalty conceded by Pierre Ekwah (Sunderland) after a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty Hull City. Regan Slater draws a foul in the penalty area.
Pierre Ekwah (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Callum Elder (Hull City).
Amad Diallo (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Greg Docherty (Hull City).
Substitution, Hull City. Ryan Longman replaces Jean Michaël Seri.
Substitution, Hull City. Malcolm Ebiowei replaces Allahyar Sayyadmanesh.
Attempt missed. Jack Clarke (Sunderland) left footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Amad Diallo with a through ball following a fast break.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Amad Diallo (Sunderland).
Callum Elder (Hull City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Amad Diallo (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Callum Elder (Hull City).
Goal! Sunderland 4, Hull City 3. Jack Clarke (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Patrick Roberts.
