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The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he insisted. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was relatively comfortable as Fulham demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were kept quiet throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder 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 was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game over the Fulham keeper's goal frame when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game 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 sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from close range. The relief inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender directed over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to prevent the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.