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The Everton manager had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on the team's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the same player later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

The striker believed his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the back post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to Everton the edge throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper 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.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The home captain had just strayed offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender directed over the goalkeeper. He did so 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 deny Muniz scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.