AFC Wimbledon one step from MK Dons reunion after extra-time play-off win

Wembley is that way! Wimbledon’s match-winner Lyle Taylor is held aloft by jubilant fans after their 3-2 win on aggregate over Accrington
(Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Giuseppe Muro19 May 2016

AFC Wimbledon are one win away from being in the same division as MK Dons but they feared the lights had gone out on their promotion bid last night.

Fourteen years after the original Wimbledon were controversially relocated to Milton Keynes, the Dons are through to the League Two Play-Off Final.

Wimbledon set up a Wembley meeting with Plymouth by beating Accrington Stanley following an extra-time period that was delayed by floodlight failure.

Neal Ardley’s side had just gone ahead in the tie through Lyle Taylor when parts of the Wham Stadium were plunged into darkness after the floodlights overheated.

That forced a seven-minute hold-up before the game restarted when the floodlights came back on — and Wimbledon held on.

“I thought it was a tactic,” said Adebayo Akinfenwa. “I thought it was a little ploy from them. But I was raised in Hackney and we played football in the dark! So we were alright to carry on. It is what it is. The lights came back on and we saw it through so we are happy.

“It means so much to everyone affiliated with AFC Wimbledon. It is what dreams are made of. We are not here just to make up the numbers, we want to go on and win this now. Bring on Wembley.”

Wimbledon have had a remarkable rise up the football pyramid since the club were reformed in 2002 and they are bidding for their sixth promotion. MK Dons were relegated from the Championship this season and both clubs could be playing in League One next season.

Wimbledon are back to Wembley for the first time since the Crazy Gang won the FA Cup in 1988 and Ardley said: “It is great for the fans. They have been through so much over the last 14 or 15 years. To take them to Wembley is a dream of mine.

“Let’s go and have a crack at it. Plymouth are a good team and we have to give it the best we can. Now we are there we have to get our heads right because we want to try and win a game of football to achieve promotion.”

Wimbledon were leading 1-0 from the first leg but Accrington levelled the tie with a first-half penalty and then went 2-1 ahead on aggregate early in the second half.

Substitute Akinfenwa (below) set up extra-time and Taylor won it for Wimbledon, who were backed by 1,067 away fans in Lancashire, with his 22nd goal of the season.

“When we went 2-0 down we could have easily folded at that point because Accrington had so much momentum,” said Ardley.

“The boys dug in, kept going and we knew we had the legs. We knew we would come strong. I am so proud of them.

“Can we finish the job? There is a great spirit around the place. Since Christmas, the bond between the first-team, our club and the supporters has been immense.

“There is a real connection there at the moment and the best in my time.”

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