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David Moyes had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless team.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors demonstrated why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the visitors were subdued all match 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 first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

The striker thought his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass 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 backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck 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 kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort beating Leno did stand. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the far 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 midfield partner Gueye finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the home player. 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 the defender directed over the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.