Antoine Semenyo struck in the first minute for the only goal of the game.
Afterwards, Iraola beamed: "It was a big win. We needed to win this game and I am very pleased with how we won.
"Especially defensively because that is what has kept us out of the points lately and a clean sheet against a team like Fulham is very important. We defended really well, still created our chances and scored our goal.
"In the last few weeks we have conceded a couple of set plays and poor goals to concede that we hadn't been conceding all season. In the last few games the opponents were scoring two goals and when you concede two goals it is very difficult to win a Premier League game."
On the chances of beating last season's points tally, the Spaniard added: "It is one of the goals that we have. We have the first chance to beat it against Crystal Palace on Saturday. It is not going to be easy, every point you get is expensive but we are in a good place."