A sell-out crowd of 9,000 welcomed Roy Keane and his Sunderland Premiership new boys to Leeside as the sides played out a 1-1 draw at Turner’s Cross.
Cork took the lead when Denis Behan fired home a Colin Healy corner-kick after 57 minutes to the delight of the home fans.
But it was a man who learned his football on Leeside who equalised as Liam Miller drilled a shot to the back of the home net to please the 2,000-strong travelling support.
Sunderland included five Republic of Ireland internationals in their twenty-man squad, with Liam Miller starting in midfield and David Connolly playing up front.
They also gave a first-team debut to defender Russell Anderson who has signed form Aberdeen.
The visitors, who had started their three-match Irish tour with a one nil victory over Bohemians at Dalymount Park on Saturday night, should have scored inside two minutes but Stern John shot wide with Cork goalkeeper Mark McNulty to beat.
Both sides were well matched in the first half, with former Sunderland midfielder Colin Healy doing well in midfield, and Cork almost scored just before half-time, a Leon McSweeney cross found Cork captain Dan Murray unmarked at the far post, but his shot found the side netting.
Cork, without the services of Roy O'Donovan, who could be a Sunderland player tomorrow if negotiations go well, got the breakthrough goal twelve minutes after the break.
A corner from Colin Healy dropped in the penalty area and Denis Behan belted a shot in off the crossbar to send the Cork fans into celebrations.
It was a Corkman who scored the equaliser, as the visitors’ Liam Miller ran past Cork defenders and shot to the roof of McNulty's net with sixteen minutes remaining.
Both sides made a host of substitutions with Cork giving David Meyler, son of Wexford hurling manager John, who was in the crowd, his senior debut.
CORK CITY: McNulty; Horgan, Murray, Cillian Lordan, Ryan; Kearney, Softic, O'Brien, Healy; Behan, McSweeney.
Substitutes: O'Callaghan and Kelly for Murray and Horgan, both 72 mins, Meyler for Healy, Cathal Lordan for Softic and Lally for Kearney 83, Daly for McSweeney and Scanlon for Behan 85.
SUNDERLAND: Ward; Halford, Kay, Anderson, Colins, Miller, Whitehead, Yorke, John, Connolly, Leadbitter.
Substitutes: Murphy for John, Richardson for Leadbitter and Stokes for Connolly all 63 mins, Edwards and Donaghue for Halford and Kay both 70, Chopra for Yorke 83.
Referee: Alan Kelly (Cork).
