Sunderland 1-0 Fulham: Wilson Isidor gives Black Cats victory at Stadium of Light

Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa criticised his team’s attitude, commitment and desire after defeat by Sunderland, whose first Premier League win of the season came courtesy of substitute Wilson Isidor’s strike.

Isidor came on in the 64th minute and made a decisive impact in a scrappy game of few clear-cut chances.

He nearly scored when found unmarked in a central position in the penalty area, only to hit the foot of the left post after the opportunity had been created by Granit Xhaka and Enzo le Fee.

Isidor, who got a goal for Haiti during the summer’s World Cup, then made it 1-0 in the 75th minute.

The breakthrough came when fellow substitute Habib Diarra did superbly with a rapid run down the right wing and Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno could not gather his low cross, with Isidor able to convert to put the Black Cats ahead.

A furious Arbeloa, after only his third competitive match in charge of Fulham, said he “didn’t like the attitude of my team” and added: “We didn’t even fight, we didn’t run, poor technical level. We were not in the game.”

Fulham were beaten 3-2 by Chelsea on the first weekend of the season, in a thrilling game.

“Against Chelsea at home, it’s easy to run and fight but you have to do it every game,” said Arbeloa.

“It’s about the character, the mentality, and ambition. We didn’t win any second balls. We want to be competitive, it’s the most important thing for a team. We were not at our level – we need to show something more.”

Fulham put in a disappointing performance and could not break through an organised and hard-working Sunderland defence, failing to produce a shot on target.

It means the Cottagers have lost both of their Premier League matches so far.