Steve Lovell scored with almost the final kick of the game to win all three points for Dundee and ensure Jim Duffy's side finish in seventh in the Bank of Scotland Premier League.

The Dark Blues had trailed to a sixth-minute goal from Richard Foster, but went on to dominate the second half and equalised through Steven Milne with seventeen minutes left.

Steve Paterson's beleaguered troops wilted under some sustained Dundee pressure and finally cracked in the dying seconds when Lovell expertly flicked the ball over the head of a defender and smacked a shot into the top corner.

Dundee were without 26-goal top-scorer Nacho Novo, who picked up an ankle knock during his side's 2-0 victory over Livingston in midweek, so Milne - who has been linked with a summer move to Pittodrie - was called into the side.

Injury-hit Aberdeen made six changes to the team which lost 4-0 to Kilmarnock on Wednesday. Out went David Preece, Bryan Prunty, Scott Muirhead, Richard Buckley, Kevin Rutkiewicz and Ryan O'Leary.

This allowed Ryan Esson, Leigh Hinds, Chris Clark, Kevin Souter, Murray McCulloch and Andrew Considine, who came in for his debut, the opportunity to prove their worth ahead of next season.

Dundee created the first real chance five minutes in, after a frenetic start to the match. Lovell spotted Esson off his line and tried to lob Chris Hegarty's fine pass over the goalkeeper's head. Unfortunately for the Dark Blues, the ball hit the roof of the net with Esson well beaten.

They were left to rue that missed chance because, a minute later, Foster broke the deadlock. He was on hand to tap in after John Stewart found space to nick in between Lee Mair and Brent Sancho, forcing rookie goalkeeper Soutar to throw himself at his feet.

The Dundee goalkeeper first dived in front of the young striker and looked to have made a good block, but watched on in horror as the ball spun to the back post for Foster, who had intelligently followed play in, to hit home.

Aberdeen had another opportunity, in the 20th minute, but Stewart was unable to direct Paul Sheerin's cross from the left-hand side on target.

Hegarty was the first player booked, for an outrageous high challenge on Heikkinen on the edge of the Dons' penalty area. He was soon replaced by Cameron.

Dundee emerged an invigorated outfit after the break and went on to dominate as Aberdeen's inexperienced youngsters wilted under the pressure of their more physical and streetwise visitors.

However, before the points were wrapped up they were guilty of some dreadful wastefulness.

Lovell was particularly culpable and had two glaring misses within the space of as many minutes.

First he could not dig the ball out from between his feet right in front of goal after being played in by Hegarty, then the Englishman flashed a shot wide from the edge of the area after being played through on goal by Barry Smith.

Kneissl, who came on for Steven Robb at the interval, went close in the 69th minute with a low shot from a tight angle on the right which was cleared off the line by Foster. The on-loan German then passed up another opportunity, blazing Milne's low cross over the bar from 12-yards.

Dundee's dominance eventually yielded an equaliser, which came through Milne in the 73rd minute. Brady's corner found Mair inside the penalty area, allowing the defender, who is out of contract in the summer, to pick out the Dundee striker two yards out and give him the simple task of blasting beyond Esson.

Kneissl was denied a much-needed goal by the Dons' goalkeeper who produced a magnificent save to pluck his header from the bottom left-hand corner.

However, Dundee were not to be denied the three points and won the match in the dying seconds, with Lovell brilliantly volleying into the roof of the net from 12 yards after some good build-up play from Smith.

Teams

Aberdeen: Esson, McCulloch, Considine, Heikkinen (Donald 69), Morrison, Foster, Souter, Sheerin, Clark (Tarditi 75), Stewart, Hinds (Prunty 78).

Subs Not Used: Hutton, O'Leary.

Goals: Foster 6.

Dundee: Soutar, Mackay, Sancho, Mair, Hernandez Santos, Hegarty (Cameron 60), Smith, Brady (Jablonski 85), Milne, Lovell, Robb (Kneissl 45).

Subs Not Used: Speroni, McNally.

Booked: Hegarty.

Goals: Milne 73, Lovell 90.

Att: 7,878

Ref: H Dallas (Scotland).