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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham showed the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal as much as 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 gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

The striker believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted 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 came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating Leno counted. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from close range. The relief inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a corner that Keane glanced past Leno. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to prevent the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.