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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net should not rest only on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring 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 £27m summer arrival from Villarreal 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 the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the same player later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when attacking the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the edge throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder 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 Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when Leno saved a Keane header and the captain fired home the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced over Leno. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.