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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not fall solely on the team's forwards. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry thought his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by Iwobi and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender directed past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop late on.