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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane responded perfectly, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one 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 big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. The defender connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off 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 second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced past Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to prevent the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.