Partick Thistle reached the Premier League play-off final after beating 10-man Ayr United at a packed Somerset Park.

In the second half, McMillan set up for Tiffany, Steve Lawless headed home and Kevin Holt headed home in a one-sided play.

Thistle was also the first team to reach the final after finishing fourth in a tournament against Queens Park in the quarter-finals.

With the first leg at Firhill on Thursday, the Jags’ scintillating form will have their top-flight rivals on the lookout.

Ross County and Kilmarnock, who meet at Rugby Park on Sunday, are struggling to avoid a finish in 11th place, with Dundee United’s chances of escaping bottom are slim.

The crowd was packed and the home fans wanted to see something special, but that bubble burst in the seventh minute when McMillan headed home Aidan Fitzpatrick’s shot which was blocked by goalkeeper Charlie Albinson.

The hosts’ slender hopes were dashed when top scorer Akinyemi was sent off for reacting to being hugged by Aaron Muirhead, and the defender took advantage of this to go down dramatically.

Thistle quickly doubled the lead on the counter-attack and Tiffoney converted from Fitzpatrick’s low cross.

Tiffany added another goal in the 54th minute, with McMillan hitting from six yards.

After Albinson palmed down Holt’s cross, Lawless completed a clever counter-attack and the defender outscored the keeper from a corner to complete the scoring.

“When you win, your legs don’t get tired”

Partick ThistleManagerKris Doolan: “I think it’s a statement about the way we want to play, how well we can do it and what’s coming.

“That’s how we approach every game, we haven’t backed down. We’re in the playoffs and we’re going to get stronger as the games go on.

“When you score goals, you feel great. When you win games, your legs don’t get tired.

“Winning breeds winning. We’ve created a winning environment. Even in training, our boys compete like that.”

ayr united boss lee brun: “Partick Thistle did a great job in both games and deserved a pass. I wish them all the best.

“From our point of view it was very, very painful. We lost an early goal but the red card gave us an impossible task. I never really saw it and I didn’t see it coming back, so I’ll hold a session on it before I see it.

“We hurt so badly. In the summer, we might be able to sit back and enjoy the orgasm, but at the moment, it feels like a failure and we’ve let people down.”