We continue counting down to the 2020/21 League One season by featuring another pivotal match in our history.
13. Milton Keynes
Always highly charged affairs, games with Milton Keynes have generally been close. Here we recall the Buckinghamshire side’s first visit to the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Tuesday 15th March 2017: League One
AFC Wimbledon (0) 2 Reeves 62, Taylor 71
Milton Keynes (0) 0
It was the perfect night to produce a season’s best performance. Neal Ardley’s men channelled the fans' passion into a high intensity performance that led to a 2-0 victory. It may have earned the club just three points but the lap of honour at the end showed it was worth far more than that to players and supporters alike.
With every home tackle producing wild cheers, the opening hour was mainly attritional and neither goalkeeper had been seriously tested before Jake Reeves' first goal of the season set Wimbledon on their way just after the hour mark. The midfielder fired the ball home through a crowd of players and Lyle Taylor ensured victory nine minutes later with a low drive.
“It is hard when you have something that is so harsh done to you,” said Ardley. “It sticks, and it’s not going to go away for a long time. I know it means a lot to so many people. I wanted the players to share it with the fans and really soak it up, because it was a big deal. The players did us proud. One thing the players here do is buy into what this club is about. They know what it means to the fans. I wanted them to enjoy the adulation they got because they deserved it.”
AFC Wimbledon: Shea, Meades, Robinson, Charles, Kelly, Soares (Parrett 66), Bulman, Reeves, Barcham, Elliott (Barnett 90+3), Taylor (Poleon 79).
This series is written by Stephen Crabtree, the editor of the Historical Don. To sample a copy contact him at stephecrab@aol.com .