🔗 Share this article

David Moyes had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors demonstrated why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet 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 the defender's late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the interval.

Barry believed his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly 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 minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and put 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 Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. The defender met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that the defender directed past Leno. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.