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The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues 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 comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had finally turned 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 video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and effort occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for offside when Leno saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt beating Leno counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye converted from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that Keane directed past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.