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The Everton manager had stressed before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a merited victory over the opposition's toothless team.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games 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 directed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the same player later in the half but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

The striker believed his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the VAR supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game 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 minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had moved offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort past Leno counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a set-piece that the defender directed past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.