Falkirk manager John McGlynn will not let his side rest on their laurels after they consolidated a top-six spot in the Scottish Premiership with hard-fought 1-0 victory over Dundee.
On-loan Aston Villa forward Ben Broggio scored the only goal of the game in the second half.
However, Falkirk rode their luck in stoppage time after Dundee playmaker Yan Dhanda fired a penalty wide after Nicky Hogarth brought down substitute Joe Bevan in the box.
The Bairns are level on points with fifth-placed Hibernian and 11 clear of Aberdeen in seventh place, while they need just one more point to reach McGlynn’s pre-season target.
McGlynn said: “It was an important win, absolutely.
“There was nothing in the game, it was very, very tight. We’re obviously delighted to come out on the winning side.
“We’ve come out with a win and a significant gap has now been created between ourselves and Dundee United and Aberdeen who didn’t play tonight.
“That gap there’s a bit bigger and away from everyone else below.
“And of course we now go level with Hibs on points and I’m absolutely delighted to have 39 points sitting here on the 11th of February when we targeted 40 points for the entire season.
“So to have 39 at this stage with loads of games to go, we have to try and build on that.”
There was little in the game until Broggio forced a volley home from close range in the 55th minute after Dundee failed to clear their lines.
Dundee had a glorious chance to earn a point in stoppage time when referee David Dickinson pointed to the spot but Dhanda could not hit the target.
The visitors have now gone four games without scoring in the league and 11th-placed Kilmarnock have moved to within three points of Steven Pressley’s side.
Pressley said: “I have no criticism of Yan. He’s been an amazing performer for us.
“I thought he was brilliant in the game. He’s a player that I would have put my house on scoring. He’s such a great dead-ball expert.
“Considering the difficult conditions, I thought our attitude towards the game was exceptional.
“I thought we performed really well in the first half.
“And then, the opening 10-15 minutes of the second half, we just didn’t quite find our rhythm. But after that, I thought, again we controlled long periods.
“The players are doing everything and more that we’re asking of them.
“It’s just the final moment, we need to find that and that’s the tough part of it.”
