Idrissa Gueye along with Michael Keane on target as the Toffees sink the Cottagers

David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were subdued all match by the home team's superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed 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 the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the same player again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. 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 front of goal, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was offside when competing with 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 two-goal lead. The provider was the creator with a corner that Keane glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.