- King scores hat trick
- West Ham lose two-straight
- King, Afobe missed PKs in first half
- Bournemouth win first game of 2017
Bournemouth beat West Ham United 3-2 in a thriller at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday where Josh King played the hero.
The Cherries fell behind to Michail Antonio’s goal and also missed two penalty kicks in the first half through Benik Afobe and King. However, King score twice either side of half time to put Bournemouth ahead but Andre Ayew looked to have rescued a point for West Ham.
However, King’s day finished off much better than it started as he slotted home the winner in the 90th minute to secure his hat trick and three valuable points as he now has eight goals in his last seven games.
With the win, their first of 2017, Bournemouth move on to 30 points and give themselves breathing space from the bottom three, while West Ham remain on 33 points.
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Bournemouth were awarded a penalty kick early on as Charlie Daniels was taken down by Sofiane Feghouli in the box and it was a clear decision for referee Bobby Madley.
King missed it and 48 seconds later the Hammers were ahead. Feghouli played in Antonio and the English winger turned and slotted into the far corner to make it 1-0 with his ninth goal of the season.
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Bournemouth pushed hard for an equalizer as Marc Pugh fed Daniels and his cross was inches away from being converted by King. At the other end Antonio drilled another effort just wide.
The Cherries continued to press as Ryan Fraser’s shot was saved by Darren Randolph and the Irish goalkeeper then tipped over Steve Cook’s header from the resulting corner. Bournemouth finally got level before half time as King controlled well and then sent a measured effort into the bottom corner to make it 1-1. Game on.
However, Bournemouth missed a glorious chance to take the lead before the break as Jose Fonte brought down Pugh and another PK was warded but Randolph saved Afobe’s effort to keep the scores level at the break.
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Bournemouth took the lead early in the second half as a free kick from the right was headed down to King and although West Ham appealed for offside the Norwegian international slotted home to make it 2-1.
Andre Ayew and Roberto Snodgrass came on as the Hammers tried to get back into the game with the former turning and sending a low shot in on goal which Artur Boruc saved easily.
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Afobe went close twice with a shot saved and a header just over the bar, while Antonio went close to equalizing for the Hammers.
West Ham did equalize seven minutes from time as Sam Byram, who looked to be offside, cut the ball back for Ayew who slotted home to make it 2-2.
6 - Joshua King is the 6th Norwegian to score a Premier League hat-trick (Fjortoft, Flo, Solskjaer, Iversen and Carew). Norse.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2017
Just when it looked like Bournemouth had blown their chance for a first win of 2017, man of the moment King popped up to hammer home a loose ball after Jack Wilshere’s shot was saved.
Pandemonium ensued among Bournemouth’s players, staff and fans.