Penalty miss just can’t dethrone the King of Bournemouth
JOSH KING missed a penalty but then went on to score a hat-trick in Bournemouth’s 3-2 win over West Ham.
The midfielder missed from the spot on ten minutes and the Hammers went up the other end instantly to take the lead through Michail Antonio.
King earned redemption on the half-hour mark to equalise with a composed curling finish and put Eddie Howe’s side in front after the break with a close-range strike.
Benik Afobe also missed a penalty for the hosts and Andre Ayew thought he had snatched a point for West Ham with seven minutes remaining. However, King had the final say when his stoppage-time effort lashed into the roof of the net.
Bournemouth boss Howe said: ‘Relief is the overwhelming feeling. It always is in those circumstances — a mixture of emotions but the main one is relief.
‘We had a lot thrown at us and it sums up the run we have had, but the lads dug deep and it was a great winning goal.’
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said: ‘In the end, we definitely deserved to get something out of the game but they played well and played with great aggression.
‘They missed two penalties too, so we were lucky we were only down by one goal. We had situations to go two up but didn’t take them, so we are disappointed.’
Meanwhile, Everton’s good run of form continued after a 3-0 success over West Brom at Goodison Park.
First-half goals from Kevin Mirallas and Morgan Schneiderlin put Ronald Koeman’s men in command.
The Baggies battled bravely in the second period but Romelu Lukaku scored his 19th goal of the season to seal the points for an Everton side who sit just five points behind fourthplaced Liverpool.
Koeman said: ‘It was an outstanding team performance.
‘In the second half, we controlled it. Our defensive organisation from set-plays was outstanding.
‘Our target is to play next season in Europe. We know maybe seventh position will bring it.’
Hull City boosted their survival hopes thaks to a 2-1 win at home to Swansea.
Oumar Niasse scored twice midway through the second half. Alfie Mawson netted a late consolation.
The victory lifts Hull to 18th in the table and a point off safety, while Swansea are now just four points clear of the drop zone.
Hull boss Marco Silva said: ‘We got three important points, of course I am happy. It was a tough, tough game.’