Emanuele Giaccherini was the man of the match as Sunderland came from behind to beat Darlington 4-2 in their first pre-season match.

Stephen Thompson and Adam Mitchell had given the early lead to the Quakers, but Italian international Giaccherini pulled one back before half-time against the Northern Premier League side.

Danny Graham soon equalised after 53 minutes and Connor Wickham gave the Black Cats the lead just after the hour mark.

Giaccherini then finished the game with a superb curler into the corner from 20 yards to ensure Sunderland started the pre-season on a positive note.