Sunderland did their confidence no harm at all with an emphatic 5-1 win over Darlington.
New arrivals Billy Jones, Costel Pantilimon and Jordi Gomez all played a part in the contest but it was experienced centre forward Steven Fletcher who did the most damage.
Fletcher, who was making his first appearance since March, marked his return from injury with two goals before being taken off at half-time.
Emanuele Giaccherini, Connor Wickham and Gomez added three more in the second period while Gary Brown scored Darlington's consolation.
