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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, delivering a well-earned victory over the opposition's ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were contained 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 the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Everton 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 the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

Barry believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving 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. The attacker was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer finished from close range. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.