David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender rose to the occasion, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.
Everton’s second win in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.
No player needed a goal 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 Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.
Everton controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.
Barry believed his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to turn in 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 attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in front of goal, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.
Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up in the box by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.
Everton, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's delivery in the build-up. But the team's third attempt past the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.
Everton had a third goal ruled out after the restart 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 competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that Keane directed over the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by VAR.
Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to deny the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.
Lena Hoffmann is a seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that matter, specializing in German current affairs and digital media trends.
