Soccer-Relief for Howe as Bournemouth overcome penalty woes

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe experienced the full range of emotions as his team claimed three precious points with a thrilling 3-2 victory over West Ham United on Saturday.

Howe watched his side miss twice from the penalty spot but could celebrate a first win in 2017 when Joshua King completed a match-winning hat-trick in the 90th minute.

"Relief is the overwhelming feeling. It always is in those circumstances - a mixture of emotions but the main one is relief," Howe, whose side are now six points above third from bottom Hull City, said.

"It sums up the Premier League really - the ups and downs are extreme but I think we played well.

"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."

Howe's side drew away at Manchester United last week and followed up with another tenacious display.

King's hat-trick came after he missed a ninth-minute penalty and Bournemouth fluffed another spot kick after King had equalised when Benik Afobe's weak kick was saved by West Ham keeper Darren Randolph.

"I was surprised to see Joshua miss it but his strike partner took the next one. There's nothing wrong with that," Howe said of the switch of takers.

"King has had an outstanding season."

The striker now has 11 league goals and he said he could and should have added more to that impressive haul on Saturday.

"I was a bit fuming, I could have had four or five if I hadn't missed the penalty but I am just happy to help the team and get the three points," he said.

"After a good result at Manchester United, there has been a buzz around the training ground and I just had a feeling it was going to be good. We had to work hard but I knew we would win.

"I can't describe how important the win is. We have been struggling in 2017 but this is great to get three points." (Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)