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The Everton manager had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham highlighted the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side 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 over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge all game.

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 minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up in the box by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when Leno saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod against the bar 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 third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed past the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to prevent the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.