Idrissa Gueye along with Michael Keane on target as the Toffees sink the Cottagers

David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham showed why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were kept quiet throughout by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye 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 player needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the upper hand all game.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort past Leno counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

The home side had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position 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 corner that the defender directed past the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.