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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham demonstrated why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were subdued all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the interval.

The striker believed his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. 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 missing, and the VAR supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper counted. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from close range. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall 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 touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that Keane glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.