STRIKER Benik Afobe was pleased by his "clinical" edge after his request for game time was answered.

Having come off the bench for the final eight minutes of the stalemate against Leicester on Saturday, Afobe felt he had needed more match action.

And the former Arsenal youngster fired a hat-trick as Carl Fletcher's youthful Cherries side opened their Premier League Cup campaign with a 3-2 win over Norwich on Wednesday.

Afobe told the Daily Echo: "Finishing is finishing, whether it's training, a reserves game or a first-team game.

"You always want to finish the chances you get. I had three chances and scored three so it was a clinical performance.

"The game was for fitness. I asked if I could get a run-out and they thought about it and said 'as long as you want to'.

"I knew that having chosen to play, I had to play properly. Sometimes in football, you see first-team players come down to this level and sack it off but I knew I had to give 100 per cent.

"I'm just delighted that I got something out of it with the goals and 90 minutes."