Fulham manager, Alvaro Arbeloa, has expressed delight after his side secured their first Premier League victory of the season, with Super Eagles midfielder, Alex Iwobi, scoring the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over Hull City, at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Iwobi found the net in the 33rd minute, with his effort taking a deflection off Hull defender, John Egan, before beating the goalkeeper to give Fulham a much-needed victory after a difficult start to the campaign.
The Cottagers entered the encounter at the bottom of the Premier League table, having collected just two points from their opening six matches, putting Arbeloa under pressure to turn the club’s fortunes around.
The Nigerian international’s strike proved decisive, earning Fulham three valuable points and lifting them from 20th to 16th place with five points from seven matches.
Reacting to the victory, Arbeloa said he was particularly pleased for the supporters and players, who had continued working hard despite their inability to convert previous performances into positive results.
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“I am very happy, especially for the supporters; they deserve this win. For the players, they were looking for this victory and have been working so hard. We deserved it in other matches, but we couldn’t get it; today was finally the day,” the Fulham manager said.
Arbeloa added that his team had shown similar qualities in previous matches but had often been punished for failing to take their chances.
“We were having the same feeling as in other matches, when we were controlling the game for long spells and having good chances but didn’t score. Usually, our rivals punish our mistakes or take their chances, but today we were brilliant for 90 minutes,” he stated.
Fulham dominated much of the encounter, registering 13 shots compared with Hull’s four as they produced an improved performance to end their winless run.
However, the hosts suffered a late setback when Ryan Sessegnon received a straight red card in stoppage time.
Despite the dismissal, Fulham held on to secure their first league victory of the campaign, with Iwobi’s goal providing the difference between the sides.
The result offers the London club an opportunity to build momentum after their disappointing opening fixtures, while Iwobi’s match-winning contribution underlines his importance to the team.
Fulham will now turn their attention to their next Premier League fixture as they seek to build on the victory and move further away from the relegation zone.
