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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, delivering a merited victory over the opposition's toothless team.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were subdued all match by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry thought his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, 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 movement and effort occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for offside when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But the team's third attempt past the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from close range. The relief inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that the defender glanced over the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.