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The Everton manager had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as the visitors showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the same player later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively 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 Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home 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. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that Keane glanced past Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.