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David Moyes had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the responsibility 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, earning a well-earned victory over the opposition's ineffective side.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player later in the half but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, however, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

Barry believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location directly at 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 Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. The defender met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer finished from close range. The relief inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane glanced over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his first touch and denied the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.