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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were contained all match by the home team's superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the interval.

Barry thought his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when set up in the box by Iwobi and sent a free-kick from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past Leno did stand. 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 powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a third goal ruled out after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. Everton 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 past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop late on.