Sunderland have taken a 1-0 lead into half time of their Premier League match with Liverpool this afternoon.

The game was the first since the tragic truth of the Hillsborough disaster was finally revealed, and Sunderland voiced their support for Liverpool before the match.

Both sides started slowly, with the only shots of note coming from Fabio Borini, who twice forced Simon Mignolet to make saves.

It was the hosts who took the lead, however, as Steven Fletcher tapped in a Craig Gardner cross from close range on the half hour mark for his third goal in two games.

The lead was almost doubled when Sebastian Larsson pulled the ball back to Jack Colback, but the midfielder couldn't convert his chance as the referee called an end to the opening 45 minutes.