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The Everton manager had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals should not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender duly obliged, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park 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 Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry believed his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that the defender directed past the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.