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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors showed the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

Barry believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune 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 the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for offside when Leno parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed offside when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past Leno did stand. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer converted from close range. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the creator with a set-piece that the defender glanced over Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.