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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, delivering a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as the visitors demonstrated the reason their leading scorer 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 technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than 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 big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the same player again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when attacking 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 runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past Leno counted. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that Keane glanced over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to deny the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.