🔗 Share this article

David Moyes had stressed before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he insisted. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, delivering a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was relatively comfortable as Fulham demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the same player later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the player at the interval.

Barry thought his luck had finally turned when arriving at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand all game.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished 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 Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that the defender directed over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.