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The Everton manager had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not rest only on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was fairly straightforward as the visitors showed why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were kept quiet all match by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for offside when Leno saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye converted from close range. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender directed past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with another important stop late on.