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The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry thought his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But the team's third attempt beating the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that the defender directed over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.