Dundee defender Jordan Forster bagged his first goal for the Dens Park outfit to boost their play-off aspirations.
James McPake’s charges moved back into the play-off positions as they jumped to third place following a hard fought but deserved win over Queen of the South.
The Dark Blues are now level on points with second place Inverness after their first win on the road in 2020.
Dundee made one change to the side which defeated Partick Thistle 2-0 in their last outing with Andrew Nelson coming in for the injured Ross Callachan.
It was Queen of the South who threatened first through Deimantas Petravicius.
The Lithuanian striker nipped in ahead of Christophe Berra to latched onto a throw from Josh Meekings and drove towards the penalty area.
Petravicius could and should have played in the unmarked Stephen Dobbie but fortunately for Dundee he opted to go it alone and his low shot from the edge of the penalty area was comfortably saved by Conor Hazard.
Queens midfielder Abdul Osman hobbled off after 18 minutes and was replaced by Lewis Kidd.
Dundee gradually began to pose more of a threat as the first half wore on.
Graham Dorrans went close after controlling the ball on his knee and then unleashing a volley from 22 yards that just cleared the crossbar.
The former Scotland international was then presented with another opportunity moments later when he stole in behind the Queen of the South defence to latch onto a long ball from Hazard but he blazed high over the crossbar.
Nelson then went close with a header from a Meekings angled pass but it went just the wrong side of the post.
Three minutes before the break Queens defence Callum Semple headed wide from a Dobbie free-kick.
Dundee turned up the pressure after the interval as they pushed for the crucial breakthrough.
Berra flicked on a long throw by Meekings and Nelson got on the end of it but his header didn’t have the power to beat Ross Stewart.
That was a comfortable save for the Queens goalkeeper but he pulled off an impressive reaction stop in the 49th minute as he tipped over Jordan Forster’s powerful header from a Dorrans corner.
Kane Hemmings then went close with a curling shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Dundee edged ahead after 72 minutes through an unlikely goalscorer as Forster grabbed his first for the club.
Paul McGowan lobbed the ball across the penalty area and Berra sent a header goalward but that was pushed out by Stewart but the rebound fell for Forster and the big defender smashed it home from eight yards out.
Dundee’s Cammy Kerr came on for McGowan after 81 minutes as he made his return after undergoing a tidy-up operation on his knee earlier this month.
Attendance: 1,126
Queen of the South: Stewart, Devine (Hamilton s81), Semple, Kilday, Mercer, Wilson, Osman (Kidd s18), Pybus, Holt, Dobbie, Petravicius (Oliver s72).
Subs not used: Leighfield, Ledger, Irving, Paton
Dundee: Hazard, Meekings, Forster, Berra, Elliott, Byrne, McGowan (Kerr s81), Dorrans, McDaid, Hemmings, Nelson (Crankshaw s69).
Subs: Hamilton, Field, Robertson, Cameron, Strachan.
Referee: Don Robertson
