King hat-trick gets Bournemouth off mark for 2017

Bournemouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Joshua King scored a hat-trick as Bournemouth rallied from two missed penalties to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win over West Ham on Saturday.

Eddie Howe’s side ended their nine-match winless run in all competitions as they finally grabbed all three points in their first win of 2017.

King blasted in the winner on 90 minutes at Dean Court after also scoring for the south coast side on 31 and 48 minutes.

The Norwegian international — who took his tally to eight goals in his past seven games — had however missed a penalty after eight minutes with Benik Afobe also fluffing a second penalty for the hosts in the first half.

Bournemouth’s Tyrone Mings watched from the stands as he started his five-match ban for stamping on Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

King had scored a penalty in last weekend’s draw at Manchester United, but the striker fired wide from the spot after eight minutes following Sofiane Feghouli’s foul on Charlie Daniels.

A minute later West Ham winger Michail Antonio marked his return from suspension with a cool finish after taking Feghouli’s pass and spinning away from his marker in the 10th minute.

King made amends in the 31st minute when the striker flicked the ball up in the penalty area before firing home.

Bournemouth missed another penalty, this one awarded for Jose Fonte’s foul on March Pugh late in the first half, as Afobe’s effort was saved by Darren Randolph.

West Ham attempted to extend their lead but Antonio and Manuel Lanzini fired wide and King then held off Fonte’s half-hearted challenge to tuck past Randolph.

Three minutes into the second half Bournemouth took the lead, King pouncing after Afobe flicked on Ryan Fraser’s free-kick amid offside protests.

The Hammers thought they had grabbed a point with seven minutes left when Sam Byram set up fellow substitute Andre Ayew. But King blasted in the winner at the death after Randolph had blocked Jack Wilshere’s shot.

The win moves Bournemouth six points clear of the relegation zone with West Ham missing the chance to move into the top half of the table.