Sunderland are leading Newcastle United 1-0 at the break of Sunday's Wear-Tyne derby at the Stadium of Light, thanks to Jermain Defoe's goal on the stroke of half time.
The hosts were first to threaten as they won a corner in the first minute of the game, but Sebastian Larsson's dangerous delivery from the left was punched clear by Tim Krul.
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Newcastle called for a penalty when Ayoze Perez was brought down in the area under Santiago Vergini's tackle, but the referee deemed that the ball was won fairly.
Dick Advocaat's charges then came within a whisker of opening the scoring in the seventh minute as another Larsson corner was met by a Billy Jones volley towards goal, but the ball was scrambled over the bar despite a lurking Defoe.
The Magpies continued to struggle against their rivals and found themselves in another compromising position when Sammy Ameobi gave away a free kick on the edge of the box, but Larsson's decision to go for goal culminated in a weak effort that Krul caught with ease.
Next to try his luck for the Black Cats was Connor Wickham, who rose at the far post to meet Larsson's corner, with the resulting header smashing against the outside of the post and back out.
Newcastle had to wait until just before the half-hour mark for their first chance, but Yoan Gouffran's volley following a poorly-cleared free kick was skewed well wide.
Sunderland's dominance in the first half was rewarded on the stroke of half time when a hopeful ball up the field was flicked on by Steven Fletcher towards Defoe, who struck the dropping ball into the roof of the Newcastle net from 20 yards out to send the home crowd wild.
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Giuseppe Labellarte
