Kingsmeadow plays host to night worth its weight inn gold

While the world was transfixed on the ding- dong between Manchester City and Monaco on the Mediterranean coastline, there was another game that caught the attention. This one was not played in a principality between megarich clubs where the players are millionaires many times over, rather it was a contest between the game’s relative paupers at Kingsmeadow, the home of AFC Wimbledon. That the home side won 2- 0 over their visitors was worth its weight in gold to the fans.

This talk of money is not intended to be a rant at what’s wrong with the modern game, but it is at the heart of this story. AFC Wimbledon began from nothing just 14 years ago amid the beginnings of a move of Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes. That relocation went through and the Dons of Wimbledon became the Dons of Milton Keynes, leaving their local fans high and dry.

It was the MK Dons that were the visitors to Kingsmeadow on Wednesday night, although you would never have known it from the match program because it did not feature the name of AFC Wimbledon’s mortal enemy and reason for existence. The scoreboard acknowledged there was an opposition but dropped the Dons to refer to them simply as MK.

You’d have known of the bitter rivalry, though, both on and off the pitch. The crowd made it clear what they thought of the “franchise bastards,” in the chant they directed to those 200 away fans. On the pitch, it was a blood and thunder affair, as games at this level tend to be, but with the added spice of the home players knowing exactly how much it meant to the club and its fans.

They didn’t disappoint in that regard. The scoreboard read “Wimbledon 2 – MK 0” at the final whistle. More importantly, the win put the Real Dons six points ahead of the visitors in the League One table.

This is AFC Wimbledon’s first year at this level, the first time they have been in the same division as their hated rivals. If making it to the Football League five seasons ago and then promotion through the playoffs at the end of the last campaign were what the club had dreamed of, then this was beyond their wildest dreams.

It has been a remarkable resurgence from the ashes of Wimbledon FC for the phoenix club of AFC Wimbledon. This is perhaps their finest hour but they will hope there are more to come. And if there is any justice in soccer, it will see them rise up the table while Franchise FC slide back to the non- league roots of the club they uprooted. As the home side’s banner states, “We don’t buy history. We Make it.” They certainly did on Wednesday night.