DEADEYE Donal McDermott was the toast of the Dean Court dressing room after handing Cherries a play-off lifeline.

The Manchester City loan star earned rich praise from his team-mates after his 60th-minute scorcher gave Cherries a 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town in Saturday’s semi-final, first leg.

Trailing to Kevin Kilbane’s first-half header, Danny Ings missed a penalty before playmaker McDermott smashed home from long-range to ensure honours remained even ahead of tomorrow’s return meeting.

Cherries captain Jason Pearce and striker Stevie Lovell both hailed the midfielder’s goal, his second since joining the club on a temporary basis.

Pearce said: “He does it in training and has got a great strike. If you give him space, he can do that. I was delighted for him.

“He is a very talented player and I am sure he will go on to play at a very high level.”

Lovell added: “He was a little bit fortunate the ball got to him but it was a fantastic finish and just what we needed at the time.

“You can see he has come from a higher standard.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow night’s Galpharm Stadium clash, Pearce added: “I think we can go there in a positive frame of mind and, hopefully, get the job done.

“In pressure games, we play well. I don’t think anyone could say that we didn’t play well on Saturday.”