Idrissa Gueye along with Michael Keane find the net as the Toffees overcome Fulham

David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet throughout by the home team's superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No player needed a goal as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime 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 luck had finally turned when arriving at the back post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the upper hand throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort past the keeper did stand. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that Keane directed over Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with another important stop late on.