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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender duly obliged, securing a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham highlighted why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet all match by the home team's superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton controlled 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 Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the back post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper counted. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer finished from close range. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that the defender directed over Leno. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.