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David Moyes had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was largely untroubled as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were contained throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the break.

Barry believed 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 assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger 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 directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating the keeper did stand. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left by the youngster. The defender met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye converted from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender glanced past Leno. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.