Gueye along with Keane on target as the Toffees sink Fulham

David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham showed why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But the team's third attempt beating the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer finished from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed past the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.