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David Moyes had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals should not rest only on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as the visitors showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, 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 just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's delivery in the build-up. But the team's third attempt past the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane glanced over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to prevent Muniz scoring with his first touch and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.