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The EFL season is now officially over as AFC Wimbledon confirm their promotion thanks to a 1-0 win in the League Two play-off final, and it’s a result that’s made plenty of neutrals very happy.
While League Two may not get as much attention as the second and third tier, the most thrilling promotion chase of them all this year was found at the bottom of our brilliant footballing pyramid.
Walsall were top of the league with a 14-point gap in January, but a disastrous fall from grace saw them end up fourth and having to fight it out in the play-offs.
After getting past Chesterfield in the semi-finals, the Saddlers took on AFC Wimbledon at Wembley on Monday. But, in a stunning turn of events, it was the Dons who sealed the win and entry to League One.
Football wins the day as AFC Wimbledon secure promotion
The odds were firmly in Walsall’s favour thanks to their fourth-placed finish, but a goal from Myles Hippolyte in first-half injury-time was enough to secure the win for Wimbledon on the day.
Suffice to say, Wimbledon fans were pretty happy with the result, but so too were a lot of neutrals across the EFL.
One supporter exclaimed, “Football has won again,” while another simply said, “Absolutely love to see it.”
Looking back at Wimbledon’s impressive journey through the EFL, one Blackpool fan wrote: “Massive congratulations! To literally come back from the dead after losing your league status to THAT abomination. Remarkable accomplishment.”
Of course, the so-called abomination they’re referring to is MK Dons. Long story short, the original Wimbledon FC were relocated to Milton Keynes and renamed in 2004.
AFC Wimbledon have had to fight their way up the footballing ladder, and have done so very quickly and admirably, to be fair.
Among the responses to this latest success, some neutrals said, “A league above the franchise,” and “A proper football club with fantastic supporters. The real Dons.”
Elsewhere, one Twitter/X user wrote: “Real dons in League One, fake ones in League Two.”
Another simply said, “Meanwhile in Milton Keynes…”
A fascinating, brilliant weekend for the EFL at Wembley
For anyone who cares about the EFL, or indeed, for anyone who doubts the importance and relevance of the EFL, this weekend was a fantastic advert for the football pyramid.
Across the weekend’s three play-off games, we saw a record combined attendance at Wembley for the EFL. Sunderland and Sheffield United’s clash had 82,718 in attendance, while Leyton Orient and Charlton Athletic played in front of 76,193 supporters.
Today, there were 50,947 watching Walsall and AFC Wimbledon. That’s a total of 209,858 fans packing into Wembley over the three days.
It’s safe to say there’s nothing better than the play-offs!