Leading 1-0 from the first leg, the Pars had to show another side as they battled against their physical opponents.

The tie could have been destined for extra-time when the hosts were awarded an 84th-minute penalty, but Aston Oxborough produced a brilliant save from Arbroath defender Aaron Muirhead’s spot-kick to clinch the tie.

Dunfermline will now take on Partick Thistle for the chance to face the side that finishes 11th in the Premiership.

“The players are performing minor miracles at the moment. I’ve got a 17-year-old coming on in a play-off game — it’s brilliant,” Lennon said.

“Over the two legs we were the better team and had the better chances.

“We weren’t under massive pressure but we defended the duels brilliantly — it wasn’t pretty but I don’t care.

“The tie was defined on moments. We had chances and we didn’t take them.

“Robbie (Fraser) has made the wrong decision and so has Aston. There’s no doubt he’s made us better. I’ve worked with good goalkeepers like (Artur) Boruc, (Fraser) Forster and (Ofir) Marciano — they make a big difference.

“I was raging with him for the tackle but he made a brilliant save.”

The Pars boss was also pleased that his side would now have two more matches ahead of their Scottish Cup final showdown with Celtic later this month.

Should they advance to the play-off final, the dates would be moved to the Tuesday and Friday following the showpiece match at Hampden Park.

“There’s loads of ways to play football, what we’ve done is given ourselves a chance to remain in the competition,” Lennon added.

“It’s two competitive games before the Scottish Cup final.

“We’re in there to win it, we’ll give it everything we’ve got but for now, we’re just glad to have Arbroath out of the way because they’re such a difficult team to play against.”

Arbroath co-manager Colin Hamilton paid tribute to Muirhead after the defender suffered heartache on his final appearance for the club.

Muirhead, who will leave Gayfield Park to join Annan Athletic in the summer, missed a late penalty which ensured that it would be Dunfermline who advanced to the semi-finals.

It has been a memorable campaign for Arbroath, who finished third after winning the League One title last season.

“It’s a tough one for Aaron on his last game for us,” Hamilton said.

“For the last year-and-a-half he’s been excellent for us. He’s a great player, team-mate and work colleague.

“I thought we deserved at least extra-time, but it just wasn’t our day. The boys gave us everything.

“Coming into the Championship after winning League One and finishing third, we didn’t just scrape into the play-offs, we were up there all year.”