Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane on target as the Toffees overcome Fulham

The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not rest only on the team's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, delivering a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were contained throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the same player later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when arriving at the back post to convert a low cross 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 going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. The defender met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that the defender directed over the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.