Bournemouth 3-2 West Ham: Josh King hat-trick sees off Hammers

Josh King's hat-trick helped Bournemouth claim their first win of 2017 as they beat West Ham United 3-2 at the Vitality Stadium.

The striker's afternoon had not begun well after he missed an early penalty, with the Hammers immediately going up the other end of the pitch to open the scoring through Michail Antonio.

However, King made up for that by equalising just past the half-hour mark, only for Benik Afobe to also miss from the spot six minutes later, before the Norwegian put the home side ahead three minutes after half-time.

West Ham appeared to have stolen a point when substitute Andre Ayew scored with seven minutes to go, only for King to complete his treble in the 90th minute and give the hosts a vital victory.

As a result, Eddie Howe's team remain six points clear of the relegation zone, while West Ham stay in 11th.

The Cherries were without suspended duo Andrew Surman and Tyrone Mings after their fiery encounter at Old Trafford last weekend, but captain Simon Francis did start after overcoming a hamstring problem, while Dan Gosling was also recalled.

West Ham, meanwhile, were boosted by the return from suspension of Antonio after a one-match ban, with the forward replacing Robert Snodgrass, who dropped down to the bench in their only change from Monday night's 2-1 home loss to Chelsea.

Bournemouth, looking for a first win in 10 matches, began the contest brightly, no doubt buoyed by their 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, and should have taken an early lead after Sofiane Feghouli felled Charlie Daniels in the box.

But after referee Robert Madley had immediately pointed to the spot, King - who scored a penalty at United - casually side-footed wide of the right-hand post, with the Cherries finding themselves behind 48 seconds later.

Harry Arter gifted the ball straight to Feghouli just outside his own area, with the Algerian then finding Antonio in the box and the forward did well to place a low shot past Atrur Boruc and into the bottom right-hand corner of the net for his ninth goal of the season and first in 10 games.

The visitors were then fortunate not to have captain Mark Noble sent off after the midfielder - already on a yellow for protesting too much after the award of Bournemouth's penalty - lunged in recklessly at Dan Gosling.

The Cherries deservedly drew level after a brilliant bit of skill by King, who in a tight space inside the box lifted the ball over Jose Fonte's head with his right foot, before planting a low shot past Randolph with his left.

Incredibly, though, Bournemouth then spurned another wonderful chance to go ahead after Fonte was adjudged to have tripped Pugh in the box, only for Afobe - given penalty-taking duties this time in place of King - to shoot tamely at Randolph.

That miss was soon forgotten as the home side finally took the lead at the start of the second period after Ryan Fraser's dinked free-kick somehow fell at the feet of the unmarked King, with the frontman making no mistake from six yards.

Referee Madley did consult his assistant to ascertain if King was offside when either the set play was taken, or the ball was deflected into his path, with the duo coming to the right conclusion.

But despite controlling most of the second period, Bournemouth looked to have thrown away the three points when Pedro Obiang's inch-perfect pass found the overlapping Sam Byram, whose cut back was tucked home by fellow substitute Ayew.

The Cherries were not be denied, however, as Jack Wilshere caught Ayew in possession, with the substitute driving forward, before releasing Pugh to the left-hand byline.

Pugh's pull back then found the on-loan Arsenal midfielder and despite Randolph keeping out his close-range strike, King was in the right place, at the right time, to fire high into the roof of the net to hand Bournemouth a much-needed win.

Player ratings

Bournemouth: Boruc (7), Francis (7), Cook (6), Daniels (7), Smith (6), Gosling (6), Pugh (7), Arter (6), King (9), Fraser (8), Afobe (6)

Used subs: Wilshere (7), Mousset (6)

West Ham: Randolph (7), Reid (6), Cresswell (5), Kouyate (7), Fonte (6), Feghouli, (5) Lanzini (7), Obiang (7), Noble (6), Antonio (8), Carroll (6)

Used subs: Byram (7), Snodgrass (6), Ayew (7)

Man of the Match: Josh King