Norwich City head into half time with a 2-0 lead over Sunderland courtesy of goals from Russell Martin and Steven Whittaker.

The game opened in scrappy fashion, with a player from each side going into the referee's notebook within the first 10 minutes, and clear-cut chances few and far between at both ends.

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The Black Cats carved out the first goalscoring opportunity in the ninth minute when Sebastian Larsson latched on to a loose ball and struck it first time, his effort deflecting behind for a corner kick.

Norwich came to life in the 25th minute as Jonny Howson draw a reaction save from Costel Pantilimon, forcing the Romanian to tip the ball behind for a corner with a stinging effort from the edge of the box.

The Canaries took the lead from the resulting corner, the ball finding its way to Robbie Brady, whose shot was parried by Pantilimon, allowing Martin to drive home the rebound and make it 1-0.

Things quickly got worse for Sunderland as Whittaker exchanged passes with Nathan Redmond in the danger zone before beating Pantilimon with a drive at his near post to double Norwich's lead.

Norwich's second goal was met with a chorus of boos from the Sunderland fans, some of whom left the stadium before half time.

Steven Fletcher almost headed a goal back for the hosts moments before the first half came to a close, but the Scot's effort from Jeremain Lens's cross sailed harmlessly over.