ADAM Federici was the hero of the hour as Cherries earned a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Preston in the third round of the League Cup last night.

Federici’s hat-trick of saves – from Jordan Hugill, Alan Browne and Daniel Johnson – booked Cherries a place in the fourth round.

His exploits, coupled with successful conversions for Junior Stanislas, Steve Cook and Marc Pugh, saw Cherries win 3-2 on spot kicks.

In normal time, Cherries had taken the lead when Shaun MacDonald headed home following a mix-up at the back after 23 minutes but Hugill forced extra-time when he nodded the hosts level six minutes from time.

Although Pugh’s extra-time goal appeared to have settled the issue in Cherries’ favour in the first period, Preston again equalised through Johnson’s penalty in the closing stages.

Boss Eddie Howe again rang the changes for the competition with no fewer than nine players drafted in to the starting line-up. The exceptions were Simon Francis and Steve Cook who made his Cherries debut in a 3-1 win at Deepdale four years ago.

Preston striker Will Keane tried his luck with an ambitious effort from 40 yards in the early stages, which Cherries goalkeeper Adam Federici watched sail harmlessly over the crossbar.

At the other end, Bailey Wright was forced to clear his lines rather hurriedly as Joshua King looked to close him down before Junior Stanislas should have done better with a presentable chance.

The winger outpaced defender Chris Humphrey down the left flank and found space just inside the 18-yard box, only to screw his left-foot shot from a tight angle well wide of the target.

A driving run from Keane ended with the Manchester United loanee’s intended cross striking a defender’s toe and diverting in the hands of Federici.

Eunan O’Kane’s slide-rule pass picked out King galloping through, although the striker’s shot was straight at Preston’s on-loan goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Yann Kermorgant’s long-range effort cannoned off Wright and went out for a corner before Preston were thankful to Sunderland stopper Pickford for beating away King’s rasping volley after Cook had headed a Francis cross back into the danger zone.

A mix-up at the back led to Cherries opening the scoring midway through the first half, with MacDonald on hand to head the ball into an unguarded net after Pickford and defender Greg Cunningham had made a hash of clearing a Stanislas cross.

Baily Cargill’s brave block prevented Keane’s volley from testing Federici before the Cherries defender’s superb interception nicked the ball away from the Preston loan man as he prepared to pull the trigger from close range.

Preston’s appeals for a penalty in first-half stoppage time fell on deaf ears after Johnson had taken a tumble under an Adam Smith challenge. Although referee Nigel Miller was booed off at the break, it had looked flimsy at best.

Preston made a bright start to the second half and Stanislas’s timely tackle stopped Alan Browne in his tracks as he looked to convert having jinked through. From the resultant corner, Tom Clarke arrived at the far post, only to head wide with the goal at his mercy.

Keane again showed signs of his rich promise when he skilfully created an opening by skipping past two challenges, although his angled drive failed to match the build up and drifted past the post.

Preston equalised with six minutes remaining when substitute Hugill rose at the far post to head Cunningham’s cross into the roof of the net.

Pugh restored Cherries’ advantage six minutes into the first period of extra-time when he turned home King’s cross following an electrifying run from the halfway line by Smith.

Fellow substitute Lee Tomlin went close to extending Cherries’ lead but was denied by Pickford’s smart save and a defender’s heroic clearance.

Preston levelled after Pugh had been judged to have handled with Johnson coolly slotting the resultant penalty past Federici, even though the goalkeeper guessed correctly and dived to his right.

Cherries: Federici 9, Francis 7, Cargill 8.5, Cook 7.5, Smith 7, Atsu 7 (Tomlin, 81), O’Kane 7, MacDonald 7 (Gosling, 88), Stanislas 7, King 7.5, Kermorgant 7 (Pugh, 81).

Unused subs: Butcher, Buckley, Surridge, Allsop (g/k).

Booked: King.

North End: Pickford, Humphrey (Vermijl, 79), Clarke, Wright, Cunningham, Woods, Welsh (Reid, 74), Johnson, Browne, Keane, May (Hugill, 74).

Unused subs: Kilkenny, Brownhill, Smith, Kirkland (g/k).

Booked: Browne, Keane.

Referee: Nigel Miller (County Durham).

Attendance: 5,643 (including 269 away supporters).