That great day in Manchester may have been almost 13 years ago, but for Ismail Yakubu it feels like it only happened yesterday.
Our former number five was one of the men selected to step up to the penalty spot in 2011 for Wimbledon – and in truth many would have been forgiven for expecting a different outcome as he sized up the ball.
But to the surprise of many – including Ismail himself – he stuck the ball away past Luton Town’s Mark Tyler with the nonchalance of a trained penalty expert, sending the keeper the wrong way and signing off with a passionate shout in the direction of our supporters.
As we all know the rest is history, with Danny Kedwell scoring the all-important spotkick to secure our deserved return to the Football League.
But for Ismail it was a case of going from the ultimate high to a tough low as he found himself released soon after by the Dons.
Ahead of Wimbledon versus Newport - Ismail played for both clubs - our former centre-back reveals all about his memorable spell with the Club, brings us up to speed with his journey since then and talks about his playing career that is still going strong at the age of 38.
We've got a very limited tickets left for Saturday's game, which are available online.
You’re best remembered by our fans for THAT penalty in the shootout at Manchester. Can you sum up your thinking in that moment – how did you stay so calm?
I remember at the time, before taking that penalty, we had been practicing in training quite a bit. Towards the end of training we’d go through the whole routine of how it would be in a final, with everyone in a line on the halfway line before taking it in turns to take the long walk up to the spot.
Terry Bown was adamant that we had to all pick a spot to hit the ball and that we had to make sure we always hit that spot when we practised. I was always going to go for the bottom right hand corner when I went up.
Before I took mine Luton missed their first penalty and then Kaid (Mohamed) missed his. I distinctly remember thinking, “I’ve got to make sure I look confident” because those two at the time didn’t look confident when stepping up compared to the other takers.
It came across that I was relaxed and not nervous. I felt even more relaxed when I did take it because the keeper dived early the other way, so halfway through my run up I knew it was a done deal. It happened in a split second, it’s hard to describe the emotions I felt – I think you can see by my reaction that it was a release of energy.
I’ve taken three penalties in my career – one in a play-off semi-final for Barnet when I was a lot younger, that I scored, I missed my second in an FA Cup game also for Barnet and after those two I was always adamant that I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to take one again. There’s no bigger stage than taking one in a final, so I immediately stuck my hand up.
I missed an opportunity to score in the game itself, so I was fuming with myself. I was at the back stick, it happened so quickly and I remember thinking I should’ve scored.
I watched the penalty shoot out back just before this interview in order to remind myself of how we were all feeling in that moment. Even reading the names on the team sheet brings all the memories back for me.
A lot of your teammates from the class of 2011 speak about how key the team spirit was. Did you always believe we were going to get promoted?
Yes. Mainly because we were always tussling with Crawley Town at the top of the league before they broke away to win the title. For a long period of time we thought we were going to win the league.
Once we got into the play-offs, we were very confident that we were going to win. I can’t explain why that is but I do distinctly remember us all feeling strongly about it all.
I remember Terry Brown brought in a psychologist to help us prepare. We did a lot of trust exercises amongst the squad in small groups. There was one exercise where we had to throw an object in front of us and then close our eyes and attempt to find it. It sticks in my head because every single player in the squad found the object during the exercise.
It was all about focusing on the prize regardless of anything else. We were so locked on that target of promotion that we never felt like we wouldn’t achieve it.
What are your best memories of playing for the Dons besides the final?
I remember some of the lads joking about Sammy Moore over lunch. It was Ryan Jackson and Andre Blackman. He was a midfielder, so he was always checking his shoulder. The lads found this quite funny. We’d take it in turns to just walk behind Sammy whilst he was eating his lunch and as if by magic he just had this sense to check his shoulder like he would in a game. We couldn’t help but have a laugh with him when he did it.
I’m still in touch with Lee Minshull. He works in London. I played with him, Max Porter and Ryan Jackson when I was at Newport County. I’ve seen Danny Kedwell at random points in time too. Myself and Sammy Hatton have also kept in touch. That’s about it but I would love to see the team back together again one day.
We were in touch with Jon Main recently – he says hello - and he asked us to ask you about the end of season trip to Las Vegas. Care to share some details?
There’s a DVD of the trip knocking about somewhere! I’m surprised it hasn’t ended up on YouTube!
We went to visit a hypnotist in Vegas. The hypnotist asked for volunteers, so me, Delano Sam-Yorke and a few other players went up on the stage. We were then told to play along with it and pretend to be hypnotised.
I maintain I was never fully hypnotised but the boys maintain that there was something different about me afterwards. I did plenty of things on the stage and I remember thinking at the time that people would think it was real because I’m naturally more of an introvert, so for me to be going crazy on the stage was out of character.
I’ve never watched the DVD myself but my family and friends have seen it and I’ve been told that players saw it after I left Wimbledon, they watched it on every away trip, so it’s still out there! I used to get calls from people saying they’d seen it. Everybody found it hilarious, so it’s a great memory.
How hard was it to leave at the end of the 2010/11 season?
It was disappointing. I was saddened by it. I had a really good season with Wimbledon. I had my struggles with injuries but I felt I did well when I did play and I managed to fight back fit. I felt like I wasn’t able to fully reap the benefits of us getting promoted.
I was with Barnet in the Football League and then I moved on to Wimbledon, got them into the league and then I missed out on playing for them at that level.
I didn’t know I was leaving before the final. I found out after the celebrations that followed in the days after it. It was between the final and going away to Vegas. I didn’t feel like going to Vegas after finding out but Mark Nwokeji is a good friend of mine and at the time he convinced me that we’d have a great time regardless.
I sucked it up and enjoyed myself. I realised I wasn’t in favour when I didn’t feature against Fleetwood Town in the semi-finals. Myself and Terry had amicable discussions about it. I felt I had earned myself a chance to play in the EFL for the Club but it wasn’t to be and I took it on the chin. It’s football and it’s the nature of the industry – I wished him and the players all the best and he thanked me for my service to the football club.
You joined Barnet aged 11 and spent a large chunk of your career there. How hard was it to leave them for Wimbledon and what convinced you we were right for you?
I had a lot of good times at Barent. I played under some good managers that took me under their wing. They taught me how to carry myself and be professional alongside the playing side. I was raised from being a kid to being an adult there.
I left at the right time because I felt I needed a change of scenery. There were a lot of years of struggle as it was always about surviving in League Two and persevering our Football League status. It was only going to get that good.
Wimbledon gave me a new mission and a fresh start. If anything I was too comfortable at Barnet, so it proved to be the right choice to move.
We face another of your old clubs, Newport County, on Saturday. You experienced success with them too. How did you find your time with the Exiles?
I live just round the corner from Newport. I’m still in contact with some people down there. It was a good time there. However, it was a rough start as I had to move from London to Wales.
Even though I had left Wimbledon, I was as confident as I’d ever been as a footballer. Towards the end of my career at Barnet I was playing with a guy called Gary Breen who played in the Premier League. I learnt more in the season playing with him than I did in the four or five seasons prior to that. He was so knowledgeable and smart. He gave me so many tips that helped me to refine my game. It weeded out all of the things that concerned me whilst I was playing.
He simplified the game for me and it made me the no-nonsense player that I became at Wimbledon. It was a successful season for the Club and for myself, which built on that confidence. I then took that into Newport.
It didn’t workout at first. In the first game I fell awkwardly on my hand – I didn’t think much of it at the time – but after the game it was throbbing and swelling up. The physio felt I would be fine, so we strapped it up. It kept bugging me in the games that followed and it prevented me from playing how I wanted. I’d never experienced pain like it. I would make a sliding tackle and not be able to get up because I couldn’t use my hand.
It's amazing the little things that you take for granted. I was playing within myself as a result and the manager thought I wasn't pulling my weight around a time when the team wasn’t doing too well. He thought my heart wasn’t in it and that I wanted to go back to London. I had to go through the manager treating me poorly, making me train with the youth team.
I was at the far end of the pitch training with a few other players. I’ve seen it happen to other people but it’s different when it happens to you as a player. It was made worse by the fact that I hadn’t really done anything wrong. They then convinced me to go on loan to Cambridge United for a month – whilst I was there the manager at Newport got sacked.
Justin Edinburgh got the job. He was told I was a ‘bad apple’ but he wasn’t convinced by that, so he gave me a chance. From that point onwards we had a very successful period. At the time I was still complaining about my hand and after finally getting checks at the hospital we found out I’d broken my wrist, so I needed surgery immediately.
I told Justin and he asked me if I could manage it until the end of the season so that I could have the surgery on the promise that he would give me a new contract. I played through the pain barrier with a broken wrist, relying on pain killers. He kept his word and I was there for the next season. We got promoted to the Football League and won the FA Trophy. Christian Jolley scored the goal against Wrexham to take us up.
We had a lot of former Wimbledon lads at Newport, which was nice. It’s a Welsh club but we had a lot of people from London there which helped to make it feel more like home. We all knew each other which gave us a strong camaraderie in the squad.
Did that spell play a part in you moving back to Wales to play for Merthyr Town?
I played for them a lot last year but this year I’ve taken up more of a coaching role. I’m a defensive coach. I moved on loan to play some games at Cinderford Town but I got a serious injury that has brought my season to an end. Coaching is filling my time alongside my job in IT.
My girlfriend is from Wales. I ironically met her when I was playing for Woking earlier in my career. It turned out she lived just down the road from where I was in Newport. We now have two children and live happily together in Wales. It’s a great quality of life for us.
You’re still playing at the age of 38. What’s kept your fire burning for the game?
I’m going to be 39 soon but I still have plenty of fun playing the game. The biggest thing is that I still enjoy it and thrive on the banter of being around the lads. It keeps me fit as well.
How would you sum up your time with the Dons overall and how does it feel to see where the Club is now?
I have great memories of my time with the Club and I feel proud to know that I played a big part in the journey. Ultimately it was a brief spell but it was one where I helped Wimbledon become a Football League club once again. We’ve left a legacy that people still look to today. It’s great to see the Club back home at the new stadium. It was always a big talking point when I was with the Club. I hope to come and visit soon.
