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The Everton manager had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane duly obliged, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as the visitors highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were contained throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Goodison Park 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 the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

Barry believed his luck had changed at last when arriving 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. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated 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 throughout.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed offside when heading on the winger's cross in the build-up. But the team's third attempt past the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that Keane directed past Leno. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.