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The Everton manager had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane responded perfectly, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless team.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one 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 £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance 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 the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed offside when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper did stand. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye finished from point-blank. 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 ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that the defender glanced past Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.