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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were subdued all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games 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 the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the same player later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

Barry thought his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the upper hand throughout.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But the team's next effort beating Leno counted. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. The defender met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye finished from close range. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

The home side had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced over the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger after the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to deny the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.