🔗 Share this article

David Moyes had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's late conversion made sure 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 gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the same player later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

Barry thought his fortune had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by Iwobi 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 second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. The defender connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team 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 directed past Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.