West Ham share points with Bournemouth after late drama on England’s south coast

By: The Associated Press Posted: 4:33 PM CST Monday, Dec. 16, 2024

BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) — Enes Ünal scored a superb free kick in the last minute of normal time to rescue a point for Bournemouth in a 1-1 home draw against West Ham in the Premier League on Monday.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/12/2024 (636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Both sides struggled to break down their opponent and goalkeepers made timely saves at each end.

But in the 87th minute, just when it looked like a 0-0 draw was on the cards, West Ham took the lead thanks to a VAR-assisted penalty.

Bournemouth's Evanilson, center and West Ham United's Edson Alvarez vie for the ball, during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and West Ham United, at the Vitality Stadium, in Bournemouth, England, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

After a video review, referee Chris Kavanagh adjudged the ball to have struck Tyler Adams’ hand and Lucas Paqueta made no mistake from 12 meters.

That would have been hard on Bournemouth, which enjoyed the better of the second half but came up against the man of the match in West Ham goalkeeper Łukasz Fabianski.

But in the 90th minute, Ünal curled a free kick into the top corner to give the Cherries a deserved share of the points.

“Credit to him, big moment, especially the reaction as well, I thought the boys were brilliant,” Bournemouth forward Ryan Christie told broadcaster Sky. “And it was a moment of magic to get us level.”

There will be debate over the penalty decision and Christie lamented what he said was inconsistent decision-making from officials.

“I thought it was harsh,” Christie said. “I know his hand is high but he’s so close to the ball. We didn’t get one last week against Ipswich from a similar scenario.

“It’s a bit frustrating because we dominated. But it’s good to get a point in the end.”

The comeback was another example of Bournemouth’s late resilience. The south coast side has picked up nine points from losing positions this season, better than everyone bar Aston Villa and Manchester City.

Bournemouth climbed into sixth place, just two points behind Manchester City, while West Ham was 14th.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer