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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not rest only on the team's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, delivering a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, 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 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 testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the same player later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

Barry believed his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the edge throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when Leno saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved offside when nodding down the winger's delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender directed past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied Traoré with another important stop late on.