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David Moyes had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals should not fall solely on the team's forwards. “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, delivering a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his big-money move 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 first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out 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 Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the player at the break.

Barry thought his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. The defender met it with a thumping header off the crossbar 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 scored from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender 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 architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced over the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.