🔗 Share this article

The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over the opposition's toothless team.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were subdued throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish 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 player needed a goal as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, 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 validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player 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 Iwobi and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when Leno saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from close range. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender directed past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.