Dundee are two games away from securing Premiership football next season after seeing off Raith Rovers in the play-off semi-final.
The Dark Blues were in the driving seat ahead of the semi-final second leg after winning 3-0 in midweek at Stark’s Park.
However, James McPake’s men were stunned when Rovers opened the scoring in the first half through Lewis Vaughan.
Rovers had further chances against a nervy-looking home side but Dundee held on to progress to the final against either Kilmarnock, Ross County or Hamilton – although basement club Accies require something special on Sunday to get there, needing to beat Kilmarnock by nine goals.
Rovers had an early chance in just the third minute with Dan Armstrong coming in off the right wing to send an angled drive towards goal but his shot was easily dealt with by home keeper Adam Legzdins.
Dundee then broke from inside their own half, with Paul McMullan playing the ball wide to Jason Cummings but the striker’s shot was deflected for a corner.
The home side had another chance as Charlie Adam fired a deep free-kick into the Raith box, with centre-half Lee Ashcroft shooting just over Rovers keeper Jamie MacDonald’s crossbar.
However, it was the Fife side who broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when a Regan
Hendry shot fell to Vaughan inside the Dundee box, with the forward swivelling before producing a fine finish past Legzdins.
Raith were on top and Dundee boss McPake could be heard screaming at his players to stop sitting so deep.
In the 39th minute, the home side carved out a promising opening as the overlapping Cammy Kerr cut the ball back to Max Anderson but the midfielder’s shot was well saved by MacDonald.
Just before half-time there was a big scare for Adam when he handled the ball – having been booked shortly before – but referee Don Robertson was content to just award a free-kick.
There was a Raith claim for a penalty in the 54th minute when a Vaughan shot was blocked by Jordan McGhee, with the ball appearing to strike the defender’s hand but Robertson was not convinced there was a case to answer.
Rovers continued to press and had another good opportunity as Kieran MacDonald teed up Armstrong but his shot was deflected wide for a corner.
However, the Raith challenge finally ran out of steam, with Dundee going through despite losing on the night.