Bournemouth 3-2 West Ham: King’s hat trick make Hammers bow to defeat

It was a torrid afternoon for West Ham United Saturday, as they were beaten 3-2 by a desperate Bournemouth side at the Vitality Stadium.

A hat trick from Norwegian talent Joshua King was the difference for the home side, who secured a vital win to edge away from a relegation zone fight. And it should have been worse for the Hammers, as Eddie Howe’s side created wave after wave of attack against the visitors from the start.

Feghouli clumsily took down Charlie Daniels in the box in the 8th minute, only for King to place his penalty wide right of Darren Randolph’s goal. Michail Antonio would make Bournemouth play for that miss, as he turned and snapped a fine goal for the opener two minutes later.

But King would have redemption and level the match with good skill past Jose Fonte and Randolph in the 31st minute. Bournemouth would miss a second penalty, when Benik Afobe couldn’t make Fonte regret for fouling Mark Pugh, as his poor spot kick was hit right at Randolph.

Bournemouth’s dominance would continue in the second half, as King tapped home his second to give them the lead in the 48th minute. West Ham would come back to level the match 2-2 in the 83rd minute, when substitute Andre Ayew scored another goal off the bench after terrific work from Pedro Obiang and Sam Byram. But King would round off a terrific day with the late winner in the 90th minute.

The Hammers will hope for a much improved performance next Saturday back at the London Stadium, when they take on champions Leicester City off the back of their Champions League Round of 16 second leg tie vs Sevilla.