It looked to be ending in a 0-0 draw but Reading were the side pushing for a winner and they got it in the 9th minute of stoppage time and, according to McDermott, it was fully justified after they'd had a goal disallowed and a blatant penalty refused.
He said: "I was so proud of the players, and the supporters behind the goal, it's a great day for them and I felt we deserved to win. We had a game plan, the players deserved a lot of credit and I think it's the first time I've won in the 99th minute.
"Burnley have been on a really good run. I'd seen the DVDs of their games and we did what we had to do, the players carried it out really well. Towards the end of the game we were in the ascendancy and there's no doubt in my opinion we deserved the victory."
McDermott was furious that his side weren't awarded a penalty in the late incident between Adam Le Fondre and former Royal Andre Amougou but pleased it didn't prove crucial.
"I'm glad we are not talking about the penalty that he didn't give, because it was the most blatant penalty I've seen for years. We also felt it was a goal (the disallowed effort) so we would have felt hard done by if we didn't win.
"Having said that, this is never an easy place to come to. We kept a clean sheet and the team is young in terms of games but is getting better. They're working hard, showing great determination and it's a great day for the players and supporters.
Coming off the bench Mathieu Manset nearly scored, Noel Hunt made the goal, it's all about the group trying to achieve something. We want to win games, we don't settle for draws. We had a spell when we lost four games and the team took a lot of criticism, we hold our hands up and you learn from that.
"We know what is required in the league and the players have acquitted themselves so well. It's a great journey home for players and supporters."
Eddie Howe was far from happy with his team's performance and said after the game: "It's a hugely disappointing day for us. We never got out of the traps and never hit our rhythm.
"We had little spells where I thought we might come alive, but then we would go flat again and there's no getting away from the fact it's a disappointing performance and result. Reading got stronger as the game went on and in the end we would have been happy with a point and moving on, but small margins dictate and we got caught late on.
"Being the home side you want to be the team chasing for three points, but for whatever reason we just didn't keep the ball well enough today and we didn't work the goalkeeper enough. It's not a criticism of anyone, but we are young team and we're quite quiet on the pitch so we do need to become as little bit more vocal. That just gets people organised and focused when the game is going on, so there's a lot there to analyse, but we can't look for excuses.
"We have to look at ourselves and say that we need to do better than that. We are at home and there are big expectations here to perform, but for whatever reason, we just didn't do it. Coming in the game we were on a good run and confidence was high. I asked for another performance similar to Nottingham Forest.
"I felt we prepared well and trained well, and frustratingly it just didn't happen and it shows me that we've still got these inconsistencies. To be truly competitive you need to produce performances week in and week out and we haven't done that yet this season. We have played in fits and starts, so we still have a lot of work to do."