Former Rangers star Charlie Adam netted a potentially crucial goal as Dundee defeated Kilmarnock 2-1 at Dens Park to close in on a shock promotion to the Premiership.
For the vast majority of the season, the Dee didn’t look to have a realistic chance of going up.
Hearts were always going to run away with the Championship and secure the one automatic promotion slot, but Dundee’s form was so patchy that even if they did make it to the playoffs, it looked unlikely that they’d be able to string multiple strong performances together.
However, James McPake finally found consistency at the back end of the league campaign and after securing second place, his side have been impressive in the playoffs.
They triumphed 3-1 on aggregate over a talented Raith Rovers side in the semi-final and then dominated the first leg of the final against Kilmarnock on Thursday night.
Jordan McGhee opened the scoring in just the sixth minute and Adam doubled the lead shortly after the interval, making a late run into the box and cooly dispatching a cutback low into the net, sparking considerable celebrations.
Killie rallied late on and pulled one back through Brandon Haunstrup but the Dee now know that if they avoid defeat at Rugby Park on Monday night, they’ll be playing Premiership football next season.
That would mean a return to the Scottish top flight for Adam for the first time since he left Rangers for Blackpool in 2009.
Dundee may have been unconvincing for much of the campaign but the 35-year-old has been outstanding in his first season with his hometown club and now has eight goals to go alongside 13 assists from 31 appearances across all competitions.
Pundit, Tam McManus, labelled the former Ger ‘different class’ on Twitter after the game and suggested that he could be the difference between the two teams over the two legs.
In other news, a pacy attacker looks set to leave Ibrox for free this summer as his contract runs down.
