🔗 Share this article

The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's forwards. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham showed the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were contained throughout by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one 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 big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the back post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position 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 persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort beating the keeper counted. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that Keane directed past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.