Jut the job as Zola’s finally got bit of Luc
Having missed from 12 yards in the 10th minute – the first of two misses from the spot by Bournemouth – the Norwegian recovered to bag a stunning treble earning the Cherries their first league win of 2017 in the process.
Ex-Man United starlet King has now cracked a remarkable EIGHT goals in his last seven outings.
Bournemouth chief Eddie Howe said: “We normally execute our penalties so well. Today was an off day.
“After being through such a difficult spell the overwhelming feeling is one of relief to have got a win. To have that winning feeling again is very important.
“But there’s no chance of complacency creeping in. I am still talking about and looking at those teams around us – and at the bottom three.
“We need to push on and get to 40 points as soon as possible.”
Howe reserved special praise for heroic King, he added: “Josh has always had the ability – for him it’s about confidence. He is pulling everything together.”
Without King, the Cherries would be deep in trouble. Instead, they find themselves edging towards safety – with a healthy six-point cushion between themselves and the drop zone.
Their heads could have dropped when they conceded their 38th goal in 16 games – a mere 48 seconds on from King’s penalty howler.
They could have dropped after Benik Afobe repeated the trick from 12 yards just before the break.
And the same applied when Andre Ayew appeared to have snatched a late draw for West Ham.
But on each occasion Bournemouth did the reverse, demonstrating immense character and guts.
In the ninth minute, the hosts were UNDER-FIRE Birmingham boss Gianfranco Zola hailed the resolve of his side after Lucas Jutkiewicz’s late strike rescued a point in Cardiff.
Birmingham had lost 1-0 at home to Wigan in midweek when Zola conceded the Blues were involved a relegation battle.
Jutkiewicz’s last-minute equaliser at the Cardiff City Stadium keeps Birmingham in 17th place, six points above the drop zone.
But Zola expressed his delight days after labelling the performance against Wigan “unacceptable”.
“This was very encouraging because after such a poor performance there was a risk that the team could have had a bad reaction,” Zola said.
“But I didn’t see that. I wanted to see the team fight and react to this bad moment, and I saw that.
“This is the thing which pleases me the most, and on personal terms it is very important as well.
“We need to be more consistent to get the momentum on our side because that is what has been lacking.”
Joe Ralls had given Cardiff a 53rd-minute lead from the penalty spot after Ryan Shotton was adjudged to have grappled Sean Morrison to the floor from a corner.
“It surprises me when penalties like that are given,” Zola said.
“There is always lot of holding and pushing at corners and very rarely do you see penalties like that given.
“I was not very pleased with that decision, but I think the draw was probably a fair result.”
Cardiff boss Neil Warnock expressed his disappointment after a week in which the Bluebirds have conceded goals in the final 10 minutes three times.
QPR scored an 83rd-minute winner at Loftus Road last weekend before Blackburn equalised in the final seconds at Ewood Park in midweek.
“I can’t fault the effort. We put a lot of energy in the second half but once again we had the weakness of conceding late on,” Warnock said.