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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham 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 Everton’s superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the same player later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

Barry believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when attacking the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye 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 wait until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that Keane directed over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to prevent the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.