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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were subdued throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, 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 comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper 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 headed the first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the same player later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

Barry believed his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort beating 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 powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a further effort ruled out after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that Keane glanced over the goalkeeper. He did so 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 the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save late on.