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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless team.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were subdued all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and missing, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and effort occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to Everton the upper hand all game.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno saved a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from close range. The relief inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed over the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.