A late penalty from Tony Wallace gave hosts Dumbarton a slender 2-1 advantage over Stirling Albion in their Scottish League One play-off semi-final first leg.
The Sons snatched an early lead against their League One opponents when James Hilton headed home from a Kalvin Orsi cross.
But Stirling responded just before the half-hour mark when Cammy Clark’s long ball found Dale Hilson, who cut inside and fired the equaliser.
Stirling had a lucky escape early in the second half when Jordan McGregor cleared Michael Ruth’s shot off the line, then Hilton flashed another effort wide.
But Wallace made sure with his 84th-minute spot-kick to give his side the lead heading into Saturday’s return fixture.
