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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender rose to the occasion, delivering a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, 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 one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased 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 supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort 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 ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for offside when Leno saved a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort past the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and denied Traoré with another important stop late on.