Steve Bruce was restrained as Gus Poyet was sent off
Poyet was sent to the stands after reacting when Jack Rodwell was booked for diving. He lost his temper and kicked over a carrier full of water bottles and ice.
Hull boss Bruce then charged towards him before the official intervened to restrain him.
“In football things happen,” said Poyet. “I have to convince the officials not to put any buckets of drinks around me.
“I have no regrets whatsoever. If that is a bad image for football I am sorry but I don’t think it’s something to worry about.
”I was sent off for kicking the bucket. The bottles coming out of the bucket didn’t help me. I’m old fashioned. What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch. There are no problems for me at all.”
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Gus Poyet in the stands after seeing red
Bruce said: “The big contentious issue is Jack Rodwell running through and then from where I was standing he dived and the referee called it right. From Gus’s reaction he thought it was wrong.
“You have to ask him why he came over to myself. I don’t know what I was supposed to have done.
“These things happen in the heat of the moment. Grown men acting like a couple of children. They happen in big games. I don’t mind being accused. I suppose I’m not flavour of the month. Let’s go and have a glass of red.”
Rodwell later became the Sunderland saviour but not without drama as he said of his equaliser to Dame N’Doye’s opener: “It hit my arm but they all count. It happened so quickly, luckily the ref gave it.”
N’Doye’s third goal in as many starts seemed to set Hull on the way to a third consecutive home victory before Sunderland showed some of their manager’s fighting spirit to salvage a point through Rodwell’s third goal of the season.
After five red cards in the last four meetings between these two sides, Poyet had said he was looking forward to “a normal game”.
It was wishful thinking. This tense match was played out amid controversy after the arrest of Sunderland’s Adam Johnson – suspected of sex with an underage girl.
The 2,500 Sunderland fans sang “there’s only one Adam Johnson”, which was greeted by a chorus of boos, as well as less savoury responses, from some of the home fans.
Since beating Newcastle on December 21, victory over relegation-threatened Burnley has been Sunderland’s only victory in the league.
If Poyet was searching for small mercies, at least Wes Brown was available, having had his red card at Old Trafford rescinded by the FA.
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Dame N'Doye has a breather after the final whistle
The defender’s first involvement was to collect a booking for a late challenge on Ahmed Elmohamady. Hull took the lead from the resulting free-kick.
Having scored in his previous two starts against Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers, N’Doye made it three in three at the KC Stadium with a clever flick to convert Tom Huddlestone’s low drive into a crowded penalty area.
It was the perfect start for Bruce, who was seeking a fifth consecutive victory over Sunderland since his sacking by the club in 2011.
Buoyed by the goal, the home team moved the ball confidently, while Sunderland spent most of the first half struggling to make an impression.
Jermain Defoe dragged a low shot wide from the edge of the box after Lee Cattermole’s pass.
Santiago Vergini was forced into a desperate recovery challenge after being exposed by Andy Robertson down the left and only a poor final ball from Jake Livermore prevented Nikica Jelavic from making it 2-0.
N’Doye came close to a second.The Senegal international controlled David Meyler’s chipped cross to outfox John O’Shea but could not apply a decisive finish from six yards.
With assistant manager Charlie Oatway instructing Sunderland from the sidelines, Ricardo Alvarez and Patrick van Aanholt were sent on as substitutes and combined to create the equaliser.
Alvaraz switched the play to Van Aanholt and the full-back’s cross was glanced over the line by Rodwell, with a little help from his arm.
The goal was probably deserved after a battling second-half display.
Sunderland will certainly need to show more of that spirit in their final 10 matches.
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