🔗 Share this article

David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals should not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he insisted. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the visitors were contained throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the player at the interval.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past Leno did stand. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a further effort ruled out after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that Keane glanced over Leno. 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 the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny Muniz scoring with his first touch and denied the speedster with another important stop late on.