The Black Cats saw off their rivals in a relegation six-pointer at the Stadium of Light on Saturday in what was their second Premier League win in a row
Jermain Defoe's 150th Premier League goal and a Victor Anichebe brace secured a 3-0 victory for 10-man Sunderland over fellow strugglers Hull City as the hosts moved off the bottom of the table.
While both teams had come from behind to win their previous fixture after miserable runs of form, goals from captain Defoe and Anichebe, twice, saw the points go Sunderland's way on Saturday.
The Black Cats had not won any of their previous five meetings with Hull in all competitions, but David Moyes' men brought that streak to an end despite a second-half power cut causing a temporary floodlight failure on Wearside, as well as a late red card for Papy Djilobodji.
It was a painful afternoon for Mike Phelan - who was sacked as assistant manager at Manchester United when Moyes succeeded Alex Ferguson in 2013 - with his side failing to take their chances before the break as Sunderland's Jordan Pickford excelled in goal.
Defoe's clinical finish put the hosts ahead 11 minutes before half-time, and from that point onwards, there only looked to be one winner.
Anichebe grabbed the second just after the hour mark and the third with six minutes to go in normal time, handing Sunderland a vital first home league win of the season.
After a strong start from Hull, it was the hosts who opened the scoring in some style after 34 minutes through their stand-in skipper.
Defoe took Duncan Watmore's flick under control and shifted away from Ahmed Elmohamady, Curtis Davies and Michael Dawson to rifle left-footed into the bottom corner from inside the area.
Sunderland took encouragement from their advantage, with Anichebe quickly poking wide, before Watmore and Billy Jones both failed to get a shot away in promising positions.
Another opening followed shortly after half-time as David Marshall stood up to block Watmore's prod from a Defoe header, but the Stadium of Light was then, ironically, plunged into darkness due to a power cut.
When the game finally got back under way, a poor Pickford clearance allowed Hull a rare opportunity, but Ryan Mason dragged his tame effort across the face of goal.
Sunderland then fired in a deserved second through Anichebe, who, like Defoe, had netted in the win at Bournemouth before the international break.
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