🔗 Share this article

David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, delivering a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and missing, and the VAR backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball 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 Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a corner that the defender glanced past Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop late on.