Sunderland 4 Hull City 2
Stu Vose
Fraizer Campbell enjoyed a night to remember as he bagged four goals against former club Hull City.
Lightning striker Campbell banged in the deadly quartet in just 34 first-half minutes as Sunderland cruised to victory in front of a lively crowd in Albufeira.
Campbell, who scored in the 1-1 draw with Brighton earlier in the week, took just nine minutes to bag his first and went on to net a further three times after Craig Fagan equalised from the penalty spot.
Sunderland dominated the majority of the game and the performance merited the result, which means the Black Cats have now won three and drawn one of their four pre-season outings so far.
But boss Steve Bruce admitted pre-match he was more concerned about the players building their fitness and crucially he managed to avoid any further injury problems.
A whole team's worth of players sat the game out, but those who did figure in an unfamiliar set-up - featuring Kenwyne Jones at centre-half - performed with aplomb.
Campbell will take the headlines for his four-goal haul, but there were good performances all over the pitch and both Steed Malbranque and Jordan Henderson were central in supplying the ammo to those up front.
Far from showing fatigue from playing in the intense heat of Portugal, Sunderland started well and had the lead when Campbell struck inside ten minutes.
Malbranque crafted the goal with a lovely weighted through-ball, allowing Campbell to race clear of the covering defenders and plant a firm shot across Boaz Myhill and into the corner of the goal.
But Bruce's men were pegged back thanks to a bizarre refereeing decision. Jones chested a ball back towards keeper Simon Mignolet only for the referee to blow for a penalty. Fagan duly obliged from the spot.
Three minutes later, though, were back in the lead. Another incisive ball from Malbranque found Campbell, who just as before drew Myhill before beating the Hull stopper low into the corner.
And Hull were stunned as Campbell completed his hat-trick inside half an hour. The former Manchester United striker received the ball on the edge of the box and worked the angle for a shot before beating Myhill with a left-footed rocket off the far post.
And Campbell's personal rout was rounded off when he bagged an unbelievable fourth 11 minutes before the break, rising highest to guide a deft header over the head of a flapping Myhill and into the back of the net.
With Sunderland cruising, keeper Mignolet had hardly had a touch of the ball, but he spread himself well to prevent Richard Garcia pulling a goal back from close range just before half time.
Hull made a number of changes at the break to inject some life in the second half, but again it was Sunderland who were up and about early on as Martyn Waghorn smashed an angled shot just wide from 12 yards.
Then Campbell turned provider to slip a delicious through ball to Waghorn, who went to nutmeg substitute goalkeeper Matt Duke only to be denied as the big stopper got down just in time to block with his legs.
Campbell was denied a penalty before he was withdrawn with 20 minutes to go, winning a deserved standing ovation from the red and white army who have been sunning themselves on the Algarve.
His replacement, Darren Bent, almost had a fifth soon after coming on, but last season's leading scorer was off-target with a first-time effort after Phil Bardsley had slung in a teasing cross from the left.
With both sides playing out time on a humid evening in Portugal, Hull did pull a goal back seven minutes from the end when Nick Barmby headed home from close range.
But the late goal didn't detract from a super Sunderland performance and another useful run-out for Bruce's boys.
Sunderland: Mignolet, Angeleri (Kay, 70), Al-Muhammadi (Weir, 70), Jones, Bardsley, Ferdinand, Henderson, Malbranque, Zenden, Waghorn, Campbell (Bent, 70).
Subs Not Used: Carson.
Hull: Myhill (Duke, 46), Zayatte, Dawson (Devitt, 65), Ashbee (Olofinjana, 57), Gardner (Cooper, 46), McShane (Barmby, 46), Garcia, Cairney, Fagan (Atkinson, 57), Folan (Cousin, 57), Kilbane
Subs Not Used: Halmosi, Emerton, Cullen.
