Exactly 14 years to the date that the phoenix of AFC Wimbledon rose from the ashes, Neal Ardley admits all his dreams have come true after watching his side defeat Plymouth Argyle to win promotion to League One.
For on this day in 2002, The Dons were reformed in a pub on Wimbledon Common, starting their journey from the depths of Combined Counties League Premier Division to now, the third tier of English football.
More than 25,000 Wimbledon fans watched the South London team dominate from the off, taking the lead with just twelve minutes left on the clock through a clever flick from Lyle Taylor.
Fans hero Adebayo Akinfenwa notched their second deep into stoppage time with a coolly taken penalty, his swansong goal in what looks to be his final game in blue and yellow.
“It’s surreal at the moment, it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Dons boss Ardley, who made 245 appearances during his playing years at Wimbledon.
“My job was to be the calmest man in the stadium and that was what I tried to be.
“I thought the game plan we had worked exceptionally well, and I thought as the game wore on, only one team was going to win.
“It’s an immense feeling and getting to Wembley is what you dream of. To pull it off and as someone who came through their ranks, to stand in front of 25,000 people who 14 years ago had their club ripped from them, it doesn’t get better than that.
“They should do a film about it!”
Taylor had the opening chance for Wimbledon just minutes in when the ball fell at his feet eight yards out, but he failed to get the decisive flick to turn it past Luke McCormick.
The Dons came close once more just after the 20-minute mark when Tom Elliott steered a header goal bound, only for the ball to ricochet off several players and fly out of play.
The Pilgrims came back into the game midway through the second half, with a brace of perfectly delivered free-kicks from Graham Carey coming painfully close to being converted.
But it was Wimbledon who took the lead when Taylor pounced on a loose ball in the area to score his 23rd goal of the season.
They very nearly doubled their advantage minutes later when captain Fuller saw his shot expertly stopped at the death by McCormick’s acrobatic save, before the Plymouth goalkeeper pulled off a stunning save once more to deny Akinfenwa at close range.
But Akinfenwa, who looks set to leave Kingsmeadow this summer, got his much-deserved goal in the 98th minute, coolly slotting home a penalty after Adebayo Azeez was fouled in the area.
But for Argyle boss Derek Adams, the travelling Green Army faithful deserved more from the game.
“We didn’t perform well enough today and didn’t play as well as we could but we can take nothing away from AFC Wimbledon,” he said.
“It’s a huge disappointment to come here and not show people what we can do.
“We have taken our fans on a fantastic journey this season, and it’s testament to both clubs that we had so many people here today.
“This is one of the finest clubs in England because you don’t take 35,000 fans to Wembley if you don’t.”
AFC Wimbledon (4-4-2): 29 Kelle Roos; 2 Barry Fuller (captain), 3 Callum Kennedy, 6 Paul Robinson, 32 Darius Charles; 17 Andy Barcham, 4 Dannie Bulman, 8 Jake Reeves, 18 Connor Smith; 33 Lyle Taylor, 9 Tom Elliott
Substitutes: 12 Jon Meades for Smith 69, 10 Adebayo Akinfenwa for Elliott 76, 14 Adebayo Azeez for Taylor 90
Substitutes not used: 1 James Shea, 11 Sean Rigg, 20 Ryan Sweeney, 39 Rhys Murphy
Goals: Taylor 78, Akinfenwa 98
Bookings: Charles, Taylor
Manager: Neal Ardley
Plymouth Argyle (4-2-3-1): 23 Luke McCormick; 2 Kelvin Mellor, 3 Gary Sawyer, 5 Curtis Nelson (captain), 6 Peter Hartley; 4 Carl McHugh, 20 Hiram Boateng; 10 Graham Carey, 11 Gregg Wylde, 14 Jake Jervis; 19 Jamille Matt
Substitutes: 27 Craig Tanner for Jervis 68, 9 Reuben Reid for Wylde 82, 28 Jordon Forster for Hartley 86
Substitutes not used: 31 Vincent Dorel, 15 Tyler Harvey, 16 Ben Purrington, 32 Jordan Houghton
Goals: None
Bookings: Wylde, Sawyer
Manager: Derek Adams
Referee: Iain Williamson
Assistant referees: Ron Ganfield and Paul Marsden
Fourth official: Tim Robinson
Attendance: 57, 956