Ross Stewart scored in injury-time to spare Sunderland's blushes as they snatched a point against Burton Albion in a game that finished late due to a medical emergency.
The game had barely kicked off when play was suspended to allow a supporter to receive medical attention, before resuming after almost an hour's delay.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson put Burton in front just after half-time, but with 93 minutes on the clock Stewart scored his 20th goal of the season to force the draw.
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The draw was enough to see Sunderland climb one place to sixth, and back into the play-off places, but it means the Black Cats' have now gone six games without a win - and have picked up only two points in the process.
Alex Neil made two changes to the side that started the weekend home defeat against MK Dons, with Jermain Defoe starting for the first time since he re-signed for the club in January, while Lynden Gooch returned after recovering from a calf injury.
They replaced Dan Neil and Leon Dajaku, who dropped to the bench.
Burton boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink made five changes to the side that started the Brewers' weekend 3-0 defeat at Ipswich Town.
Oumar Niasse, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Johnny Smith, Michael Mancienne, and Charlie Lakin came into the side, with Frazer Blake-Tracy, Jacob Maddox, Gassan Ahadme, Christian Saydee, and former Sunderland academy man Williams Kokolo dropping out.
Only five minutes had been played when the game was halted due to the medical incident in the West Stand, and after ten minutes referee Rob Lewis suspended the match and took the players off the pitch to the dressing room.
Medical staff worked on the casualty for around another half-hour minutes before the man was moved by the emergency services, and an announcement was made that the game would restart after the players had completed a ten-minute warm-up.
Once play did resume, Burton keeper Ben Garratt made a comfortable save from a 25-yard Stewart shot.
And a couple of minutes later, Garratt made a much better save when he blocked Stewart's close-range effort, after good work from Gooch on the right.
Midway through the half, Burton went close to opening the scoring with Anthony Patterson making an excellent stop to deny Oumar Niasse, and then Corry Evans blocked the follow-up shot from Jonny Smith just in front of the goalline.
Smith had another opportunity when he burst into the area down the right but this time he took a heavy touch just as he was preparing to shoot, which meant the ball ran through to Patterson.
Alex Pritchard sent a free-kick over the bar, and Defoe fired over the top from the edge of the area, but the game was goalless at the break.
In the second period, Pritchard sent a free-kick narrowly wide from long-range.
But it was Burton who took the lead on 53 minutes.
The lively Smith turned away from Callum Doyle, and threaded the ball into the left side of the area into the path of Borthwick-Jackson, and his low first-time shot went across Patterson and just inside the far post.
Carl Winchester saw a long-range strike saved by Garratt, while at the other end Patterson had to get down smartly to save from Smith.
Patterson made another vital save 15 minutes from time, blocking a shot with his legs from substitute Christian Saydee, to keep his side in the game.
Sunderland kept pouring forward late in the match and Patterson had to make another good save, this time to deny substitution Harry Chapman.
And the importance of those saves was underlined three minutes into injury time, when Stewart headed home Pritchard's cross from six yards to snatch a point.
How they lined up
Sunderland: Patterson, Winchester, Wright, Doyle, Cirkin, Gooch (Neil 75), Evans (Embleton 60), Matete, Pritchard, Stewart, Defoe (Clarke 70). Subs not used: Hoffmann, Batth, Dajaku, Roberts
Booked: Winchester
Burton Albion: Garratt, Brayford, Hughes, Shaughnessy, Hamer, Smith (Chapman 69), Powell, Mancienne, Lakin, Borthwick-Jackson, Niasse (Saydee 65). Subs not used: Kovar, Ahadme, Rowe, Kokolo, Taylor
Booked: Shaughnessy, Saydee
Referee: Rob Lewis (Shrewsbury)
Attendance: 30,237
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