Under-pressure Sunderland boss David Moyes was rewarded for his bravery after seeing Patrick van Aanholt rescue only a second Premier League point of the season.
Van Aanholt, who started the afternoon on the bench, scored an 83rd-minute equaliser to clinch a 1-1 draw with West Brom at the Stadium of Light.
Van Aanholt had been introduced as a 56th-minute replacement for the injured Jan Kirchhoff and lined up in midfield rather than his more accustomed left-back role.
Moyes said: "We had been training Pat further forward this week in a couple of sessions to see how it looked.