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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were subdued throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders 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 midfield, but the early danger from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer converted from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane glanced past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz scoring with his first touch and denied the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.