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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were contained all match by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. 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 reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the interval.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for 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 persisted in front of goal, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved offside when heading on the winger's delivery in the build-up. But the team's next effort beating the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane glanced over the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop late on.