Adebayo Akinfenwa says AFC Wimbledon’s date with destiny at Wembley is the stuff of dreams.
The Beast came off the bench at Accrington and sparked a stunning turnaround as they came back from two goals down to reach the League Two play-off final.
Wimbledon went through 3-2 on aggregate, Lyle Taylor scoring the decisive goal , and will now face Plymouth Argyle under the famous arch in north west London.
Akinfenwa told Sky: “It’s massive. It’s what dreams are made of.
“It means so much to everyone affiliated with AFC Wimbledon. We’re not here just to make up the numbers, we want to go on and win this now.
“Lyle has been great all season and if you give him an opportunity you know he’ll score. He deserves all the praise and affection because it was a massive goal. We’re going to Wembley.”
Akinfenwa was unfortunate not to start the game at the Crown Ground after a similarly excellent substitute performance in the first leg at Kingsmeadow on Saturday.
Although he was disappointed not to get the nod, the Beast showed a great attitude and gave Accrington’s defenders a nightmare evening.
He continued: “Gaffer calls it as he sees it. I felt like I could make an impact and by the grace of God I got the goal, but it’s the team. This team has been beautiful. It’s been an honour to be a part of it and it’s a great feeling.
“Can somebody talk to the ref please because he kept blowing up when all I was doing was using my strength. On my day I’m a handful. They knew they played Akinfenwa today.”
Not even late floodlight failure, which led to a lengthy delay in extra-time , could spoil Wimbledon’s play-off party.
Akinfenwa joked it could have been a cheeky way of trying to get the match suspended and would have been happy to finish the match without the additional lighting.
He added: “I thought it was a tactic! I thought it was a little ploy from them. I was raised in Hackney and we played football in the dark. We got through it though and that’s all that matters.”
