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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, delivering a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors demonstrated why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were contained all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed 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 one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster headed 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 early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling 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, however, and withdrew the player at the interval.

Barry believed his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively 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 his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the home player. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that the defender glanced over the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent the substitute finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.