Idrissa Gueye along with Keane on target as Everton overcome Fulham

The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender rose to the occasion, delivering a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham showed the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were kept quiet throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

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 testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges 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. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

Barry believed his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR 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 effort occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and sent a free-kick from a dangerous position straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper counted. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from close range. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the home player. The team 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 over 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, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.