Darlington 0 Sunderland 1
Andrew Lisgo
A solo effort late in the game from Bolo Zenden was enough to give Sunderland a second pre-season win as they saw off Darlington at the Northern Echo Arena.
The Dutch midfielder, a second half substitute, sealed a narrow win for Sunderland as he fired the winner seven minutes from time.
The ball fell to Zenden on the edge of the box and he struck a firm right-footed shot beyond a diving Sam Russell.
The first half was a competitive affair but Sunderland came on strong in the second period and failed to convert several chances before Zenden struck.
However it was the home team who started the game as the brighter of the two sides and striker Liam Hatch had Trevor Carson scrambling across his goal in the opening minute as his shot fell just wide of goal.
But Sunderland began to dominate with Darren Bent coming close with a drive from an acute angle which was well gathered by Russell.
Sunderland continued to be on top of the game and Fraizer Campbell looked sharp, making quick runs down either side of the box as he linked up well with Kieran Richardson in advanced positions.
Sunderland made their first change of the game on the half-hour mark as Ahmed Al-Muhammadi came on for his Sunderland debut, replacing Lee Cattermole.
The Egyptian debutant got straight into the action and was constantly looking for the ball, showing glimpses of his pace. It was Al-Muhammadi who set up Bent for Sunderland's best chance of the half.
The ball was crossed in and Bent picked it up on the edge of the six yard box, smashing the ball against the angle of post and bar.
With the teams going into the break all square, the biggest cheer of the first half came when a rogue beachball got in on the action.
The referee stopped play to remove it from the action which was greeted by boos from both sets of supporters before cheers when it blew back onto the pitch.
Sunderland made three changes for the start of the second half as Simon Mignolet replaced Carson in goal with Michael Liddle and Jack Colback coming on for McCartney and Richardson.
Again though, it was the home side that started the brighter and they had their best chance of the game just two minutes after the restart. A cross came in from the left which Mignolet came to collect, however it was slightly over him and Liam Hatch may have felt unlucky not to have headed home as he mistimed his jump on the six-yard line.
Ten minutes into the second half and again Bent was unlucky not to score, seeing a shot cleared off the line by Dominik Werling after a scramble in the box.
Sunderland made three more changes on the hour as Zenden, Kenwyne Jones and Anton Ferdinand came on for Malbranque, Bent and Kilgallon.
Sunderland's fitness proved to be too much for Darlington as the game went on and the home side failed to test Mignolet who was making his second appearance for his new club.
Sunderland continued to push for a goal and Jack Colback had a thunderous volley blocked by Campbell which would surely have tested Russell in the Darlington goal.
The best reception of the game came on 78 minutes when former Sunderland midfielder Jamie Chandler was replaced by Dale Hopson. Chandler was cheered off the pitch by both sets of fans and he will have been pleased with his performance against his former club as he reminded the home fans what he is capable of following a loan spell last season.
Sunderland finally made the breakthrough with seven minutes remaining as their constant pressure paid off. After a Al-Muhammadi cross from the right was deflected, the ball fell to Zenden who struck a sweet shot on the edge of the box into the bottom right of the goal.
The victory was sealed and Darlington failed to respond in a game which gave all members of the Sunderland travelling squad a run-out.
It's two wins out of two for Sunderland, who now head to Portugal for warm-up games against Brighton, Hull and Benfica.
Sunderland: Carson (Mignolet, 45), Bardsley (Weir, 83), McCartney (Liddle, 45), Cattermole (Al-Muhammadi, 30), Turner, Kilgallon, Henderson, Richardson (Colback, 45), Campbell (Tounkara 79), Malbranque, Bent.
Darlington: Russell, Arnison, Werling (Porter, 70), Chandler (Hopson, 78), Brough, Miller (Cornforth, 57), Hatch (McReady, 73), Hone, Wright, Senior (Moore, 20), Gray.
