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The Everton manager had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, delivering a merited victory over the opposition's toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were subdued all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target 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 on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by Iwobi and sent a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye 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 security of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a corner that Keane directed over the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.