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The Everton manager had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a well-earned victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell 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 infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring more than 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 £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the same player later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the upper hand all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past Leno counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer converted from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender directed over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.