Hull City boss Steve Bruce has hailed his side's spirit as they ended a 10-game run without a win to beat Sunderland 3-1 at the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats took the lead through Adam Johnson in the first minute of the game, but Bruce's men responded as Gaston Ramirez found the net before half time.
The Tigers took control of the match in the second half when James Chester put them ahead with a header from a corner, while Nikica Jelavic secured their first victory since October.
Bruce told BBC Sport: "We could have buckled after conceding an early goal, but there were seven players out there who were the mainstay of the team when we got promoted, and they've showed great spirit. Our second half display was arguably as good as we've seen this season.
"It's always nice to come here and win, the stick I get maybe it's a little bit sweeter than if you get beat so it's a sweet Boxing Day.
"We're a newly promoted team that's been in the Premier League for 18 months. We've been blighted by a little bit of loss of a form and injuries. It's been difficult and it's still going to be difficult. Some of the injuries are long term but hopefully this result will give us a huge lift."
Hull moved out of the bottom three as a result of their win over Gus Poyet's side.
Simon Sinclair
