🔗 Share this article

David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham demonstrated why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as 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 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game over the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the same player again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry thought his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it 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 found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a corner that Keane directed past the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with another important stop late on.