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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 his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as the visitors showed why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the interval.

Barry thought his fortune had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to Everton the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up in the box by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain 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 Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. The defender met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that Keane directed over Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with a crucial save late on.