Sunderland 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Stu Vose
Sunderland remain unbeaten in pre-season - but they were made to work hard for a draw by an excellent Brighton outfit.
The Seagulls bossed proceedings for long spells and looked to be on course for victory courtesy of Glenn Murray's penalty on the stroke of half time.
But a host of second-half substitutions by Steve Bruce gave Sunderland life and they eventually cashed in just four minutes from time.
Substitute Fraizer Campbell grabbed his first goal of the pre-season, eluding several defenders to get a toe on Jordan Henderson's free kick to level.
Brighton will perhaps feel aggrieved to not have won the game, but Bruce will be pleased his side got a result while also working on their fitness.
Kicking off in warm conditions in Albufeira, Sunderland were instantly on the attack as Martyn Waghorn - deployed on the left wing - shot straight at Michael Poke from the left of goal.
But Brighton are approaching the end of their pre-season campaign having played for a week more than Sunderland, and it showed as the Seagulls poured forward.
Captain Gordon Greer should have opened the scoring after just six minutes, planting a booming header just past the far post after he rose highest to meet Elliott Bennett's corner.
Then the excellent Trevor Carson came to Sunderland's rescue to keep the scores level 10 minutes in, springing upwards to push Radostin Kishishev's cross-shot over the bar.
He was beaten just a minute later when Murray headed in a Bennett cross from five yards, but the referee correctly ruled the goal out having spotted Carson being impeded when the ball came across the box.
Brighton were keeping the ball well and playing the fluent passing game advocated by boss Gus Poyet. It was working, too, as Sunderland were pinned back inside their own half for long periods.
Carson was relieved to see a speculative shot from Murray fly over just after the half-hour after the striker did well to turn away from his marker on the edge of the box before working the angle for a shot.
The busy Murray - already denied a goal - should have put his side ahead in the closing stages of the first half, heading Bennett's free kick inches wide when left in acres of space at the far post with Carson tracking the ball across goal.
But he atoned from the penalty spot a minute before the break, slamming the ball straight down the middle after the unlucky Bolo Zenden handled Marcos Painter's cross.
After being second best for large spells during the first half, Sunderland started the second 45 minutes brightly, coming close almost instantly through Waghorn as he fired over from 12 yards.
But once again Brighton imposed themselves on the game and threatened as Murray robbed Matt Kilgallon and advanced on goal, only for Carson to make an excellent reaction save down low to his left.
Bruce introduced Jordan Henderson and Campbell off the bench just before the hour mark, with Steed Malbranque joining them shortly afterwards in relief of George McCartney, who collapsed in a heap after falling awkwardly on his ankle.
The substitutions seemed to have the desired effect as Sunderland began to take the game to Brighton in the closing stages.
An excellent move almost led to an equaliser 15 minutes from the end. Campbell and Henderson linked up well to release Waghorn, whose ball back to Campbell was dispatched inches beyond the top corner of Poke's goal.
And the travelling Sunderland fans had something to cheer about four minutes from time as Campbell's late intervention earned a draw when he steered in Henderson's free kick.
Sunderland: Carson, Bardsley, McCartney (Malbranque, 62), Colback, Ferdinand, Kilgallon, Zenden (Campbell, 58), Richardson, Waghorn (Liddle, 75), Jones (Henderson, 58), Bent.
Subs Not Used: Mignolet.
Brighton: Poke, Calderon, Elphick, Greer, Painter, Bennett, Kishyshev, Navarro, Sparrow, Barnes, Murray.
Subs: Walker, Cook, Hall, El Abd, Battipiedi, Dicker, Baz, Holroyd, Hart, Smith, Morais.
