A STUNNING late strike from Matt Ritchie denied his former club victory after Joshua King put Cherries in front in the closing stages against Newcastle.

Ritchie's left-foot shot in second-half stoppage time flew beyond Artur Boruc to secure a point for the Magpies.

Norwegian marksman King fired Cherries level from the penalty spot just after half-time to cancel out Salomon Rondon's brilliant free-kick in the closing stages of the first half.

The former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United striker then put his side ahead in 81st minute after sharp footwork from substitute Dominic Solanke.

Cherries defended resolutely until the final minute of the game when Ritchie found space at the back post and unleashed an unstoppable half-volley to level the contest. The draw left the Dorset club 11th on 38 points.

Eddie Howe made two changes to his starting XI, Nathaniel Clyne and Jordon Ibe replaced the injured Adam Smith (hamstring) and Andrew Surman (calf).

Wales international David Brooks shifted into central midfield alongside Jefferson Lerma and Charlie Daniels was given the captain’s armband.

After cagey initial exchanges, which saw Ayoze Perez cautioned for a high boot on Ryan Fraser, the hosts fashioned their first and best chance of the half through the Scotland international in the 10th minute.

King collected the ball on halfway with space to drive forward and fed Fraser down the left flank. The Aberdonian had time to compose himself and unleash a low effort which cannoned off the post and out of the path of Callum Wilson who almost had a tap in.

Cherries appeared dangerous on the counter and showed this when Fraser stole possession from a Newcastle corner and found Ibe. The former Liverpool winger earned his side their first corner, which failed to threaten the Newcastle goal.

In the 18th minute, a sloppy pass by Ibe gave the Magpies an opportunity to press, Perez exchanged passes with Rondon before finding Miguel Almiron who gave Boruc an easy save. Jefferson Lerma picked up his 11th booking of the season for a lunge on Perez.

Midway through the first half, Fraser went down with an ankle problem after a tussle with Isaac Hayden but he was able to continue.

It was then Hayden who went down and received treatment following a tangle of legs with Wilson.

The travelling support called for Lerma to be shown a second yellow after a duel with Perez but Mike Dean waved play on only for Hayden to chop down Brooks.

The former Blades talent was down again minutes later when Mo Diame inadvertently raked his Achilles' tendon.

Cherries looked set to end the half on the front foot with a corner but a poor delivery allowed Almiron to race clear before Ibe was shown a yellow card for foul on the Paraguayan around 25 yards from goal.

With time almost up before the break, Venezuelan Rondon stepped up and whipped a right-foot strike over the wall and beyond Boruc to give Newcastle the advantage at half-time.

In the second half, it did not take long for Howe's men to get back on level terms.

The move began with a superb slide challenge from Nathan Ake on the edge of the Cherries 18-yard box. Ibe broke away with the ball and tried to find King but the ball deflected to Fraser and his cross was sent behind for a corner.

From the resulting set-piece, Fraser delivered an out-swinging cross and referee Dean pointed to the spot after Federico Fernandez hauled former Chelsea star Ake to the ground.

King, who last month scored one penalty and missed another against Wolves, waited for Martin Dubravka to make his move and sent the ball to the keeper’s right to put Cherries level three minutes into the second half.

Moments later, from another Cherries corner, Chris Mepham nearly netted his first goal for the club. The former Brentford man lost his marker and sent his effort just wide of the post.

In the 56th minute, Newcastle almost regained the lead through former Cherries favourite Ritchie but he could not steer Rondon's effort on target, before Lerma headed a Fraser free-kick over the crossbar.

The game began to drift in the difficult conditions until Callum Wilson almost headed home.

A poor punch from Dubravka was lobbed back into the box by Clyne and Perez failed to head the ball away. This set up Wilson to nod towards the target for what appeared to be a certain goal only for Paul Dummett to acrobatically clear off the line.

The introduction of Solanke sparked impetus into the Cherries frontline and a moment of creative class from the Young Lion set up his side's second goal.

The £17.5million January signing snatched possession from Fernandez, weaved his way into the penalty area, turned back and slid the ball for King to slot home beyond the despairing Dubravka with less than 10 minutes to play.

The Dorset club held on until the final minute of stoppage time when a hopeful ball from DeAndre Yedlin found its way to Ritchie who unleashed a rasping half-volley into the net.

MATCH STATS

Cherries (4-4-1-1): Boruc; Clyne, Mepham, Ake, Daniels; Ibe (Solanke 74), Lerma, Brooks, Fraser; King; Wilson.

Unused subs: Rico, Simpson, Surridge, Mousset, Taylor, Begovic (g/k).

Booked: Lerma, Ibe, Daniels,

Newcastle (5-4-1): Dubravka, Yedlin, Lejeune, Fernandez, Dummett, Ritchie; Perez (Atsu, 72), Hayden, Diame (Shelvey, 83), Almiron (82); Rondon.

Unused subs: Manquillo, Clark, Kennedy, Darlow (g/k).

Booked: Perez, Hayden.

Referee: Mike Dean (Cheshire).