Jermain Defoe scored twice against his former side as Sunderland came from behind to beat Toronto 2-1 on their pre-season tour.

The England international, who returned to the Premier League from Toronto in the January transfer window, looked bright from the first whistle and came close to breaking the deadlock early on when he headed wide from a Billy Jones cross.

Chances were difficult to come by for the hosts, but they enjoyed spells on top in the first half and missed a promising chance when Robbie Findley sprinted clear before shooting just past the post.

Sunderland dominated before the break, but they were behind in the second minute of the second half when Jonathan Osorio capitalised on a mistake from Adam Matthews to slot past Costel Pantilimon.

The Black Cats were soon back on level terms as the lively Defoe created space for himself in the box before firing in an effort which took a slight deflection.

A second goal arrived within the space of four minutes as Adam Johnson played the perfect pass for Steve Fletcher, who squared the ball to allow Defoe to tap in his second of the game.

Toronto struggled to produce a response in the latter stages as Sunderland continued to threaten, with Defoe coming agonisingly close to a hat-trick when a powerful strike drifted inches wide of the post.