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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals should not rest only on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham highlighted why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike 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 one was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in midfield, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper did stand. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a corner that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to deny Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop late on.