SUNDERLAND were glad to see the back of London after gleaning one solitary point from six visits this season.

And the trip to The Valley was different only because Charlton proved to be no better than their relegation-haunted rivals.

Yet memories of the thrilling 1998 Wembley play-off final which forged a refreshing bond between the clubs came flooding back after an explosive start which brought two goals in as many minutes.

Sunderland's long-suffering supporters, who had not seen a goal from their favourites in 343 minutes of Premiership football, must have feared the worst when Charlton tore upfield to snatch the lead after only 65 seconds - a cracking, right-foot strike by Jason Euell, his 13th of the season.

But instead of folding like they have done so many times in a disappointing season, Sunderland came up with the perfect pick-me-up - an equaliser of high quality within a minute.

And promising debutant Thomas Butler played a vital part in the crucial goal, weighting his pass perfectly for Republic of Ireland international Kevin Kilbane to claim his first goal since the rare luxury of a 3-0 win at Blackburn on Boxing Day.

The rapid-fire equaliser seemed to inject confidence in a Sunderland side which has looked so unsure of itself recently. But to be fair, the opposition was nowhere near the class of their three previous adversaries in the capital - West Ham, Arsenal and Chelsea - prolific scorers of ten goals without reply.

And Sunderland did carry a slice of luck when unpredictable referee Eddie Wolstenholme denied Charlton a penalty for what appeared to be a blatant trip on the talented midfielder Scott Parker by goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

Nevertheless the Sunderland fans sang their delight when striker Kevin Phillips finally ended his ten-match goal drought with a deft header from a well-flighted Jason McAteer free-kick - the former Liverpool man looking far more productive in a central midfield role vacated by the suspended Gavin McCann and Claudio Reyna.

It was certainly not a game for the purist or the faint-hearted as both teams threw everything into attack, and if the finishing had been better the score-line might well have been a repeat of the 4-4 deadlock at Wembley four years earlier. Sadly, however, there was no-one in either line-up able to follow the example in that classic encounter of Charlton's Wearside-born Clive Mendonca, the match-day guest of honour whose career has been so cruelly cut short by injury.

Sorensen did have to make a reflex, one-handed save to keep out a shot from Jonaton Johansson, but there was no excuse when Sunderland's veteran striker Niall Quinn headed wide in the 42nd minute when a goal would most likely have clinched victory.

Quinn was to scorn another great chance in the second half, side-footing the ball wide from an excellent position as Sunderland suddenly started to look uncertain of themselves under mounting home pressure. Sunderland's free-flowing attacks started to stutter and Charlton benefited from the fresh legs of striker Kevin Lisbie, a 66th minute substitute.

Graham Stuart, who had been involved in some excellent build-up work, was again the provider in the 82nd minute, and when his centre was only half cleared Lisbie earned his side a point with a spectacular overhead kick.

In the end it was a fair result, though manager Peter Reid was left to rue Quinn's misses.

Reid, however, was much happier with his team's performance than he was the previous week at Upton Park and the defeat of Ipswich Town by Manchester United, made the point much more valuable than it first appeared.

He said: "I wasn't best pleased at West Ham but this was much better; it was a good point and we played some good stuff.

"I thought we'd done enough to win and I was disappointed with the way we allowed Charlton to equalise with just a few minutes remaining.

"But it was a much happier dressing room afterwards.

"The players had a go for me and that's all I can ask of them."

Read more about Sunderland AFC here.