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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, delivering a well-earned victory over the opposition's toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were contained throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker believed his luck 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 maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for offside when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that Keane directed past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.