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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a merited victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker 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 continued in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating Leno did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the delivery 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 be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a corner that the defender glanced over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to deny the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.