Gueye and Keane on target as the Toffees sink the Cottagers

David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were contained throughout by the home team's superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header 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 forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the player at the break.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for offside when Leno saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod 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 palpable.

Everton had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a two-goal lead. The provider was the creator with a corner that Keane glanced over Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop late on.