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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on the team's forwards. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were contained throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal more than the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike 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. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for offside when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved offside when heading on the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past Leno did stand. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a third goal ruled out after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that Keane directed over the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford 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.