Gueye along with Keane on target as the Toffees defeat Fulham
David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless team.
The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as the visitors showed the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.
No player was more in need of scoring as much as 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 missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by his teammate's fine cross.
Everton dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the player at the interval.
Barry believed his fortune had changed at last 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 wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position 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 the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and effort occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.
The Londoners grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.
The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement 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 heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the far post when found in space 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 close range. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.
Everton had a third goal ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that Keane directed past Leno. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by VAR.
Silva’s side posed more danger following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied Traoré with another important stop late on.
