Dumbarton advanced to the final of the League One playoffs after a 1-0 victory over Stranraer at the C&G Systems Stadium on Tuesday night.
Sons had a number of chances in the first-half and took the lead through Jaime Wilson just after the half-hour.
The Blues has most of the possession after the break, and created opportunities, including a missed penalty, of their own.
But following Saturday's goalless draw at Stair Park, Dumbarton held on to set up a two-legged final against Edinburgh City, beginning at Ainslie Park on Monday, May 17 before the return leg at The Rock three days later.
Manager Jim Duffy hailed his defence for another impressive showing – although he cursed his side's continued injury woes as he now fears may be without goalscorer Wilson for both legs of the final.
Dumbarton made it through to a play-off final against Edinburgh City after Jaime Wilson's goal earned a 1-0 aggregate win in the semi-final against Stranraer (Photo - Andy Scott)
He said: “We got a break with the missed penalty, but I think we carved open the most chances.
"Although we were under pressure in the last ten or fifteen minutes, I thought we defended brilliantly and Sam [Ramsbottom] didn’t have a save.
“We created three or four decent chances but the most important thing is defensively we were outstanding again.
"It wasn’t a classic football match, I don’t think either of them were, but we got the job done.
“Jaime pulled his hamstring, which is a nightmare for us again.
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Dumbarton made it through to a play-off final against Edinburgh City after Jaime Wilson's goal earned a 1-0 aggregate win in the semi-final against Stranraer (Photo - Andy Scott)
"We can’t seem to shrug off injuries, but that’s probably an accumulation of all the games – I heard [Manchester United manager] Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saying that they couldn’t cope with three games in eight days. You want to try being a part-time team, doing it constantly for the last two or three months.
“Edinburgh City are a good footballing side and score goals. It’s going to be tough, but we don’t expect anything different, and I’m sure neither will Edinburgh.”
Duffy made three changes from Saturday's line-up for the second leg, with Tomas Brindley, Robert Jones and James Wallace coming into the starting eleven in place of Adam Frizzell, Ruaridh Langan and Rabin Omar.
Chances were few and far between at the weekend but the game started with a different intensity at The Rock as Ross Forbes smashed the crossbar with a free-kick just after the ten minute mark.
Sons continued to pile pressure on the League Two side and should have taken the lead midway through the half when Forbes was at the centre of the action again; he played the ball through to Wilson, but his shot was pushed away by Stranraer keeper Greg Fleming.
Dumbarton made it through to a play-off final against Edinburgh City after Jaime Wilson's goal earned a 1-0 aggregate win in the semi-final against Stranraer (Photo - Andy Scott)
The loose ball fell back to the former Inverness man, but he couldn’t find the target from close range.
Dumbarton’s leading goalscorer may have been wondering if it was going to be his night as he passed up another chance after half an hour when he swept Wallace’s cross from the left wide of the target.
He would quickly make amends by giving his side the lead with perhaps the most difficult opportunity of the lot – as the visitors failed to clear a long ball and he smashed the ball into the bottom corner after 33 minutes to net his seventh goal of the season.
Stranraer, managed by former Sons assistant Stevie Farrell, didn’t make much of an impact on the Dumbarton goal in the first half, but they made a bright start to the second 45 as they looked to take advantage of the low, setting sun that was causing visibility problems for goalkeeper Sam Ramsbottom and his defence.
The visitors had several set-pieces around the box that Duffy’s side managed to clear before they were awarded the perfect opportunity to equalise; Sons captain Stuart Carswell brought down Thomas Orr just inside the penalty box, and referee Gavin Duncan took a moment to think about his decision before pointing to the spot.
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Dumbarton made it through to a play-off final against Edinburgh City after Jaime Wilson's goal earned a 1-0 aggregate win in the semi-final against Stranraer (Photo - Andy Scott)
Ruari Paton stepped up and aimed for the bottom corner, but his effort crashed off the outside of the post and went behind – though even if he had aimed a few inches to the left and found the target, Ramsbottom looked as if he may have got a hand to it.
Stranraer weren’t disheartened by the miss and continued to throw bodies forward, but they failed to trouble Ramsbottom with the Sons defensive line standing tall.
That did leave chances for Dumbarton on the break – a surging run forward from Nick McAllister set up a sight of goal for the St Mirren loanee, but his strike was saved by the feet of Fleming, with Jones’ follow up blocked.
Further opportunities followed for Sons to wrap up the tie as Fleming again used the lower half of his body to keep out a shot, this time from Jones after terrific footwork from the frontman, and Rabin Omar looked as if he would head the ball into the net at the back post but he nodded wide.
But the hosts held out, and now prepare to travel to Edinburgh City on Monday after the capital side squeezed past Elgin City 3-2 on aggregate in the other semi-final.
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