Sunderland edge Sheff Wed in first leg of play-off tie

Sunderland gained the edge in their Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday with a 1-0 win in the first leg at the Stadium of Light.

Ross Stewart scored the only goal on the stroke of half-time on Friday night, handing the Black Cats a slight advantage in the tie.

It leaves Wednesday with some work to do if they want to reach Wembley, ahead of the second leg at Hillsborough on Monday night.

Roared on by a bumper crowd - as 44,742 fans created a record attendance for an EFL play-off semi-final - Sunderland piled on the pressure in the first half as they tried to make home advantage count - but it took until the stroke of half-time and an error from Sam Hutchinson to provide the opener.

His mistake near halfway allowed Stewart to pounce and race through, finishing for the second time after his first attempt was kept out by Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Sunderland continued to push after the break and nearly found a second on a couple of occasions through Pritchard - as he hit the crossbar on 52 minutes and then forced Peacock-Farrell into a fine save four minutes later.

Wednesday soon grew into the game and started to put some pressure on the Sunderland defence, but they came so close to conceding a crucial second in the 89th minute as a mistake from Peacock-Farrell presented Stewart with a glorious opportunity, but he could only fire just wide.

Sunderland's Alex Neil: "We've given ourselves the advantage from home going into the second leg. The only disappointing thing is it should have been more. I thought we were totally dominant, and we're disappointed we didn't add to the scoreline.

"I thought we were brilliant, I really did. To soak up that atmosphere and perform on that stage with everyone