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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors demonstrated why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the visitors were subdued throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and the defender'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 Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian 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 substituted the midfielder at the break.

Barry believed his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham 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. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But the team's third attempt beating Leno counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that Keane glanced over the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.