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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a dangerous position straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had moved offside when heading on the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt beating Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed past Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.