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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, delivering a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham demonstrated why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were subdued throughout by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish 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 needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had moved offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt past Leno counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer converted from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that the defender glanced over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied the speedster with another important stop late on.