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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, delivering a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were subdued all match by the home team's superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

Barry believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when set up in the box 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 Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper did stand. The left-back 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 Gueye converted from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.