AFC Wimbledon have reached a historic milestone by climbing above Milton Keynes Dons in the football pyramid for the first time – only 14 years after they were formed.
Neal Ardley’s side defeated Oxford United 3-1 to move up to 10th in League One, two places above MK Dons, who lost 1-0 at home to Port Vale. Wimbledon took a 3-0 half-time lead at the Kassam Stadium through Tom Elliott, Darius Charles and Andy Barcham, before a Charles own goal offered Oxford consolation.
Alex Jones’ first-half goal proved enough for Port Vale to prevail at stadium:mk, with Ben Reeves hitting the bar for the hosts with a late free-kick. Karl Robinson’s team drop to 12th, while Port Vale climb to fourth.
AFC Wimbledon were formed by Wimbledon FC supporters in 2002 after the original club were allowed to relocate to Buckinghamshire, and were later renamed MK Dons. The new team started life in the Combined Counties League, despite the FA panel who approved the move famously claiming a new club was “not in the wider interests of football”.
The club have since climbed six tiers, earning promotion to League One via the play-offs last season, while their relocated rivals are in the same division where they began their first full season in Milton Keynes.
The sides have played each other three times in cup competitions – all in Milton Keynes – with AFC Wimbledon earning their first win over MK Dons in the 2014-15 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. The sides will meet in the league for the first time on 10 December, with AFC Wimbledon hosting MK Dons, a team whose existence many of their supporters refuse to acknowledge, at Kingsmeadow on 14 March.
