Fullkrug and Bowen give West Ham win over Bournemouth

Niclas Fullkrug and Jarrod Bowen were on target as West Ham beat Bournemouth 2-0 in Atlanta to secure second place in the Premier League Summer Series.

Fullkrug followed up his winning goal against Everton on Wednesday with a close-range opener after Bowen had shown impressive composure to tee him up from a El Hadji Malick Diouf cross.

Summer signing Diouf produced another fine delivery for West Ham’s second goal, allowing Bowen to guide a low finish into the far corner beyond Bournemouth goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

Bournemouth started the game strongly as they looked to bounce back from their 4-1 loss to Manchester United on Thursday but missed a glorious early chance when Evanilson struck the inside of the post from a few yards out with the goal gaping.

Fullkrug’s opener punished that miss later in the first half and Bournemouth were denied by the woodwork again when Illia Zabarnyi sent a free header against the underside of the bar.

The win never looked in doubt for West Ham after their breakaway second goal, putting them on six points from their three games, a point behind Manchester United, who drew 2-2 with Everton in the final fixture of the tournament.

WATCH: The key moments from the game

Bowen hails West Ham togetherness

Jarrod Bowen hailed West Ham’s team spirit in recovering from a tough start and delighted at his goal having sliced an earlier chance wide with his right foot.

“Talking of my right foot, I never want see the first chance I had back again!” he told Sky Sports. “I thought, if another one comes to my right foot, I can’t finish it like that. It was a brilliant ball by Malick.

“The positives are that we have had three really good games against Premier League opposition.

“Tonight we knew it was going to be difficult, they are a really good side.

“I liked the character about the group. We didn’t have the best start but we stuck in there, we were together, we were a team. As the captain, that’s really good to see.”

Bowen singled out new arrival El Hadji Malick Diouf for praise, saying: “Both goals were down to him and the quality that he’s got.

“He has only been here a few weeks but you would think he has been here years. That’s a credit to the kind of person he is. He’s humble and he’s obviously a brilliant footballer as well.”

Iraola: We have good things to build on

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was disappointed by his side’s failure to convert their chance but insisted he was encouraged by their performance otherwise.

“We did a lot of very good things but you need to score,” he told Sky Sports. They were much more effective than us but I finish the game happier than the other day.

“We can take a lot of very good things from the game and there are also things to improve. To concede two goals with the way we played, it’s not the best thing. But I leave here thinking we have some really good things to build around.

“We have some players that are in a lovely spot to start the season but we also have others who are not where we want them to be.

“We still have just a little less than two weeks but we need everyone on their best form so we can be competitive.

“It’s been a great experience for everyone. We’ve played three high quality games.”