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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the same player later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye 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 Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed offside when heading on the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating Leno counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that Keane directed over the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.