West Ham United are leading Newcastle United 1-0 at half time in their Premier League clash at Upton Park.
The hosts took the lead after just nine minutes when Mark Noble squared the ball to Dimitri Payet, who finished off by lashing the ball past Tim Krul into the top right corner from the edge of the box.
Steve McClaren's charges struggled to find their feet following their early setback but came within a whisker of equalising in the 20th minute.
Daryl Janmaat broke down the right flank and played the ball to Georginio Wijnaldum, who did just enough to get himself into the box before his compatriot retook possession and bore down on goal.
With just goalkeeper Darren Randolph to beat, however, he fired the ball low into the middle, which was efficiently blocked by the last man's legs.
Wijnaldum had a go himself moments later when he got the ball on the edge of the box and blazed a first-time shot over the bar, the Hammers then countering through an equally overshot Manuel Lanzini effort.
Massadio Haidara was next to try his luck from distance as he shanked his effort over in the 27th minute, with neither side able to truly threaten the opposition's final third aside from Payet's goal.
There was a late flurry of action in the half as Victor Moses combined well with Payet to slice through the Magpies defence and bear down on goal, but his angled shot flew wide.
Giuseppe Labellarte
