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.
