West Ham United go into half-time 1-0 down to Sunderland despite squandering a handful of chances.
The hosts struggled to settle into the game and fell behind to well-taken goal by Steven Fletcher, who set himself up to fire into the bottom corner.
Sam Allardyce's men had a chance to draw level on 12 minutes when James Collins jumped up for a free header, only to put it wide from close range.
The Hammers continued to press, and might have levelled the match had Titus Bramble not put in a vital block to deny Kevin Nolan.
Ricardo Vaz Te and Mohamed Diame also squandered chances for the hosts, leaving them trailing to Fletcher's goal at the break.
Written by
Mark Langshaw
Mark Langshaw
