Prematch chatter centred on Andy Johnson’s return to Goodison Park but another striker facing his former club settled this contest: Louis Saha, a star at Fulham between 2000 and 2004 but only an intermittent success at Manchester United. Saturday’s late winner was his first goal for Everton since a summer move.

United were eager to offload the injury-prone 30-year-old and Everton were happy to take him, with David Moyes, the manager, figuring that even if Saha played only 20 games, he would be a worthwhile addition.

“I spoke to Carlos Queiroz [the former United assistant manager] about him, a few people who’d been around him and they gave him incredible shouts on his ability,” Moyes said. “With him not costing us anything it made it a deal where we knew it was worth the gamble. I’ve found him a really pleasant lad.”

Everton’s first home win of the season moved them within sight of the top six. “I’m hoping now to see the form turn a little bit,” Moyes said. “We’re grinding out a couple of results and we’ve done that for long periods over the last few seasons. Sometimes it’s good when you win when you’re not playing well.”

This was the lowest league crowd in the 6½ years of Moyes’s tenure, mainly thanks to the meagre away support of about 200. It may have been the hassle of train line engineering works; it could have been because the game was televised and the kick-off was 12.45pm. Or, maybe the stay-aways knew their history: Fulham have now lost on their past 16 league visits to Goodison Park.

In that context the scoreline seems inevitable but Fulham had chances, Bobby Zamora and Zoltan Gera hitting the woodwork. “A lot of things were working and give me the encouragement to believe we can have a good season,” Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, said. “We’ve got players who can provide goals. Having said that, we’re not conceding many but not scoring enough.”

Mark of Respect - 8/10

Minimal dissent made this an easy afternoon for Lee Mason, helped by a low-key atmosphere and fairly undramatic game without any bookings.

Everton (4-4-1-1): T Howard 6 – P Neville 6, J Yobo 6, P Jagielka 6, J Lescott 7 – S Pienaar 4 (sub: V Anichebe, 76min), L Osman 6, M Fellaini 7 (sub: L Saha, 61 7), M Arteta 5 – T Cahill 4 – Yakubu Ayegbeni 5 (sub: J Vaughan, 84). Substitutes not used: C Nash, A Hibbert, L Baines, J Rodwell. Next: West Ham United (a).

Fulham (4-4-2): M Schwarzer 5 – J Paintsil 6, A Hughes 6, B Hangeland 6, P Konchesky 6 – S Davies 4 (sub: E Nevland, 89), D Murphy 5, J Bullard 7 (sub: C Baird, 83), Z Gera 3 (sub: C Dempsey, 87) – A Johnson 5, R Zamora 5. Substitutes not used: P Zuberbühler, J Gray, F Stoor, L Andreasen. Next: Newcastle United (h).

Referee L Mason Attendance 31,278