Attendance: 21,012
Sunderland finished the 2015-16 season with an entertaining 2-2 draw at Watford.
Jack Rodwell opened the scoring late in the first half with a close-range finish, only for Sebastian Prodl to head home the equaliser just a couple of minutes into the second period.
Jeremain Lens capped a brilliant counter-attack with a neat finish to restore the lead only for Troy Deeney to level from the penalty spot.
The Black Cats had two goals controversially disallowed for offside – one in either half - and replays showed both should have stood.
Sam Allardyce took the opportunity to hand starts to Rees Greenwood and Tom Robson, with both doing brilliantly and the latter completing the full 90 minutes at left back.
With safety secured in midweek, Allardyce opted to give the youngsters a chance and made nine changes.
As well as starts for Greenwood and Robson, George Honeyman was named on the bench and saw action in the second half.
Meanwhile Jordan Pickford started in goal for the third time in 2015-16, with the likes of Duncan Watmore, Lens, Rodwell and Dame N'Doye also handed opportunities.
The game kicked off amidst a party atmosphere, particularly in the section housing the 2,200 travelling fans.
It was the hosts who had the first real sight of goal – Almen Abdi firing just wide of Pickford's left-hand post following some neat interplay on the edge of the area.
Abdi threatened again just after the quarter-hour, cutting across the face of the area and evading a couple of challenges to flash a shot narrowly past the angle of post and bar.
Barring a Lens cross which was sliced away from N'Doye, Sunderland had created little but were nevertheless well in the game.
Odion Ighalo had a shot deflected into the side-netting as the Hornets pressed in Qique Sanchez Flores' last game as manager.
Sunderland had to wait until the half-hour for their first real opportunity, when Watmore's cross was deflected inches over the bar by Miguel Britos from inside the six-yard box.
At the other end, Ighalo pulled a shot wide after taking on Robson before Pickford saved well from Nathan Ake at close range.
But the Black Cats hit back to take the lead six minutes before the break.Lens was denied by Gomes, but the rebound was eventually worked back to the Dutchman, whose low ball across the box was swept home by Rodwell at the back post.
It should have been two just a minute later – Watmore beating Gomes one-on-one only to be incorrectly flagged offside.
Watford equalised two minutes after the restart.Prodl beat John O'Shea in the air and his header from six yards beat Pickford.
But Sunderland hit back with a goal of their own just two minutes later courtesy of a clever counter-attack.
Greenwood played the ball forward for Watmore to break away from sub Juan Carlos Paredes, and the winger cut inside before teeing up Lens to beat the covering defender and finish well past Gomes.
Honeyman replaced Greenwood immediately after the goal – the midfielder coming on for his Barclays Premier League debut.
Watford would have struck back with a second equaliser but for Pickford, who denied Ake with a superb 54th-minute tip-over.
Sunderland should have had a third goal when N'Doye's diving header from Seb Larsson's free-kick was disallowed for offside, but replays showed the striker was onside as the visitors had a second strike ruled out.
And Watford had a penalty just a minute later when Jose Manuel Jurado went down in the box – Deeney converted from the spot.
Allardyce introduced Yann M'Vila off the bench in place of Larsson for the last half an hour of the season.
Chances were few and far between in the closing stages, though Watmore was denied by a good save from Gomes five minutes from time after bursting down the left.
Meanwhile Oghalo had a shot deflected behind by Kone after initially failing to get the ball under control in a good position.
And that was that as Sunderland closed out the season with a point on the road, making it just one defeat in their final 11 games of the campaign.