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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were contained all match by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Goodison Park forward 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 clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar 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 the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and effort occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for offside when Leno saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. The defender met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane glanced over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.