Former Everton striker Jermaine Beckford grabbed a first-half winner for Preston to give them hope of improving on a dismal record of having exited at the playoff semi-final stage six times since 1989.
Beckford raced on to a through ball and slotted in a calm finish for his 10th goal in his last 16 appearances.
Preston fell into the playoffs on the final day of the season when an 18-game unbeaten run ended at Colchester and MK Dons snatched second place in League One.
In the other semi-final, Swindon Town's Nathan Byrne scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to seal a 2-1 comeback win at Sheffield United.
Nigel Clough's United side took the lead when Kieron Freeman drilled a low shot past Wes Foderingham in the 19th minute, but Sam Ricketts levelled early in the second half with a header.
Byrne snatched victory at the death when he burst forward and fired a low shot in off the post.
(Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by Ed Osmond)
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