He got a show of character from his team, some much-needed organisation and a volley from one of his favourite players, Ozan Tufan, to rescue a point. Ultimately, though, this was a missed opportunity.

Oscar Estupinan missed a penalty and Sunderland's Elliot Embleton was dubiously sent off, so the Tigers would have expected more than a point from the game.

Liam Rosenior has clearly worked hard to bring some order to a rabble of a squad but Ross Stewart's goal on the counter-attack meant he had to fall back on chaos theory, pouring on attack-minded players in search of an equaliser Tufan provided, and a winner that never came.

The game was played a day before the 20th anniversary of the first match at what is now the KCOM Stadium – a friendly against Sunderland for the Raich Carter Trophy, which was on offer again.

By all accounts the great man was never much into coaching, just management when he hung up his boots, but that is what his old club need now and in Rosenior's first home game in charge, they seem to have it.

When the game was at 0-0, Hull looked like a football team.

That may seem a strange thing to report, but too often earlier in the season they looked like 11 blokes who had bumpedinto each other by chance and found themselves having a kickabout.

They kicked off in a 4-4-1-1 and were disciplined in it. Occasionally, when Lewie Coyle pushed right the way up the right wing with his team in possession, Jacob Greaves shuffled over into a back three, Tyler Smith came off the wing to partner the returning Estupinan up front, Regan Slater dropped into a three-man midfield, and Ryan Longman pushed into a mirror of Coyle's position. It was all very smooth, very well-drilled.

In the first 45 minutes at least, all that discipline did not amount to much goalmouth action at either end but as a first step towards pulling clear of the relegation zone, that will have to do. The frustration was that when circumstances went their way they could not use it as a platform for more.

It took until the 12th minute for a goalkeeper to be called upon, and it looked like what Anthony Patterson had to get low and keep out with a strong left hand was a Jean Michael Seri cross, rather than a curling shot but no matter.

Hull were the better of the two teams at that stage, unafraid to fizz the ball about and even to play their way out of danger from deep positions. It may not have been the most thrilling football but it still had its merits.

Right-back Coyle was the Tigers' best player at that stage but Longman's 18th-minute cross was just in front of him. It was Coyle's cross Estupinan glanced wide of the target in his first game back after a suspension which spanned the World Cup break.

Early substitute Dan Ballard did well to keep a Coyle cross nodded back away from danger, and Greaves headed over when the corner was finally played in.

Eventually, Sunderland began to pose an attacking threat, with shots off target from Ellis Simms and Amad Diallo.

But a stoppage-time counter-attack might have put Hull in front had Longman again not missed Coyle from a crossing position and Rosenior walked off chuntering in referee Gavin Ward's ear about what he thought should have been a penalty for a tackle on Estupinan.

Perhaps that was playing on Ward's mind when Ballard tackled Slater in the 49th minute. The referee pointed to the spot.

Estupinan, who scored seven goals in August but only has one early October goal since, rolled his penalty wide of the goal.

If there was any debate about the penalty – and few away players seemed to argue – the red card was wrong, Embleton jumping into Woods to leave both needing treatment.

Ward quickly took his red card out of his pocket but around four minutes of treatment left him plenty of thinking time. He waved it the midfielder's way as he was carried off on a stretcher.

It ought to have only gone one way from that point but Smith was unable to get his eyebrows on a Coyle cross and Estupinan headed a Longman delivery over.

So Stewart punished them, taking a Patrick Roberts pass and slipping it beyond Matt Ingram in the 75th minute.

It was the increasingly influential Woods who got his side back into it, delivering a cross substitute Tufan volleyed in.

When added time was taken into account, that left 16 minutes for a winner, but they were not good enough to find it.

Hull City: Ingram; Coyle (Sinik 75), Christie, McLoughlin (Vale 81), Greaves; Smith (Tufan 71), Woods, Seri, Longman; Slater; Estupinan.

Unused substitutes: Elder, Figueiredo, Docherty, Lo-Tutala.

Sunderland: Patterson; Gooch, O'Nien, Batth (Ballard 16), Alese (Cirkin 61); Evans, Neil; Diallo (Ba 85), Embleton, Clarke (Roberts 61); Simms (Stewart 61).

Unused substitutes: Bass, Bennette.

Referee: G Ward (Surrey)

Hull City 1 Sunderland 1: Character but no fireworks as Tigers pass up a good opportunity