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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. 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 quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

Barry thought his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But the team's next effort beating the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. The defender met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. 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 corner that the defender glanced over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.