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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender rose to the occasion, securing a merited victory over the opposition's toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors showed why 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 greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No player needed a goal as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that the defender glanced over the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals 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. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.