Gueye along with Keane on target as Everton defeat the Cottagers

David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side'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 well-earned victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, 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 spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the same player again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry believed his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for offside when Leno saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left by the youngster. The defender met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that the defender directed over the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to deny the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.