Palace had defeated the Black Cats 3-2 at Selhurst Park earlier in the week in a thrilling game – but one which only set the tone for even further drama to come.
Iain Dowie's team went 2-0 down in the semi-final's second leg, after Kevin Kyle bagged the opener against the run of play before teammate Marcus Stewart doubled the Black Cats' tally.
It took a dramatic header from substitute Darren Powell to draw Palace level, the effort crashing in off the bar in injury time following the dismissal of Julian Gray, and give Palace their glimmer of hope for progression.
You can watch quick highlights of the play-off ties below, or extended highlights at the bottom of the page.