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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender duly obliged, delivering a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were kept quiet throughout by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal more than the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when arriving at the back post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to Everton the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that the defender directed past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop late on.