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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, delivering a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance 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 Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped 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, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up in the box by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper counted. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a corner that Keane glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to deny the substitute scoring with his first touch and denied the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.