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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals should not rest only on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, delivering a merited victory over the opposition's toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as the visitors demonstrated why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position 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 an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating Leno did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed 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 offside when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that Keane directed over Leno. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with a crucial save late on.