BA Sports Journalism

LIVE BLOG: AFC Wimbledon vs Walsall FC League Two Play-Off Final.

- by Ed Groves

AFC WIMBLEDON take on Walsall as they both attempt to return to The EFL League One- but who will be playing alongside already promoted Doncaster Rovers, Port Vale and Bradford City next season? Stay up to date here on the Solent Sports News’ live blog.

AFC Wimbledon lead Walsall FC 1-0 going into the break thanks to a brilliant volley from Myles Hippolyte right before half time, but it is all to play for in the second half of this final.

Attendance: 50,947

WIMBLEDON HAVE WON THE LEAGUE TWO PLAY-OFF FINAL.

The referee has blown his whistle for the final time and Myles Hippolyte’s strike was the only thing that could settle the two hard-fought outfits.

95′ Walsall have a freekick on their half way line but it leads to nothing.

THERE WILL BE SIX MINUTES ADDED TIME.

90′ Wimbledon substitutions

Off comes goal scorer Myles Hippolyte for Callum Maycock

Marcus Browne makes way for Aron Sasu.

88′ Walsall are looking for the equalizer and have won a throw after their ball into the box was cleared.

86′ Up the other end Okagbue has just performed a fantastic last ditch tackle to stop Browne from getting a shot away.

85′ After a quiet ten minutes a free kick falls to David Okagbue but the centre back’s effort is way over. Walsall need to do better here.

75′ Wimbledon substitution

Matty Stevens leaves the Wembley pitch for Josh Kelly.

72′ Walsall make two more substitutions

Alfie Change leaves the field for goal scorer in the play-off semi final Charlie Lakin.

Nathan Asiiwme is substituted for Connor Barrett.

69′ GREAT CHANCE

Josh Neufville comes close to doubling AFC Wimbledons lead but his close range effort is saved on the keepers right hand side.

68′ Substitution for Wimbledon

Riley Harbottle makes way for Issac Ogundere.

67′ The Walsall fans are electric at the moment and are spurring their team on as some great footwork from George Hall leads to a blocked shot out for a corner.

63′ GREAT CHANCE

Levi Amantchi is straight into the action after a great ball from George Hall but his tame effort will not threaten the joint highest clean sheet in the league keeper Owen Goodman.

61′ Substitutions for Walsall.

Jamie Jellis makes way for Albert Adomah.

Jamille Matt makes way for Levi Amantchi.

59′ A good bit of football from AFC Wimbledon once again as the captain Reeves and Tilley link-up well allowing Reeves space to shoot but his shot sailed over the bar.

57′ The throw in leads to a chance for Browne after Stevens flicked into him with his head despite being on the floor but the shot was blocked.

56′ He is now up and ready to take a throw in.

52′ Riley Harbottle is down receiving treatment and has had his head wrapped up in black wool.

49′ GREAT CHANCE

A ball in from Nathan Asiimwe is met by Jamille Matt but Riley Harobottle is there to clear it off the line.

48′ Walsall have come out this half eager to level things and have got themselves a corner.

46′ The referee blows his whistle and we are back underway for a highly anticipated exciting second half of play-off final football.

Half time: AFC Wimbledon lead Walsall FC 1-0 going into the break thanks to a brilliant volley from Myles Hippolyte right before half time, but it is all to play for in the second half of this final.

45+2โšฝ Goalllllllllllllllll for AFC WIMBLEDON

A wonder goal for Myles Hippolyte right on half time.

A flurry of blocked shots from a Dons corner falls to Hippolyte who volleys the ball into the bottom right corner leaving the keeper with no chance!

45′ There will be three minutes of additional time.

38′ The Wimbledon fans were all on their feet as they thought smith was in on goal after a ball from Stevens but Allen recovered well and stopped any danger towards the Walsall goal.

33′ Unfortunately Harry Williams day is over as he limps off with an injury to the applause of the Walsall fans.

Coming on to replace him is Oisin McEntee.

30′ GREAT EFFORT AND GREAT SAVE

Marcus Browne finds himself in a bit of space outside the box and quickly turns and shoots low but hard towards the bottom right but Tommy Simikin makes a very good save.

21′ After Walsall lose the ball playing it out from the back Alistair Smith lays off Hippolyte for the first shot of the game but The Saddlers goalkeeper had nothing to worry about it as it was dragged wide.

19′ Hippolyte and Neufville work it very well down the lefthand side but unfortunately Neufville was offside after getting into a promising crossing position.

15′ The first real chance of the game as Miles Hippolyte puts a dangerous ball in behind for the Dons striker but Stevens can not get onto it and it is collected by Simikin.

10′ After the first ten minutes there is very little to separate the two sides so far both are battling hard and trying to get the ball to their front men as quick as possible.

3′ Walsall have the first corner off the game won by Liam Gordon

which is overhit and leads to a Wimbledon throw in

1′ WE ARE UNDERWAY HERE AT WEMBLEY

3:01 Walsall will kick things off in their all red strip

2:57 The national anthem has just been sang by everyone in the stadium, followed by the banners being taken off the pitch. KICK OFF IS IMMINENT

2:50 With 10 minutes to go an extremely loud cheer is let off by the travelling 28,500 AFC Wimbledon fans as their badge banner is revealed on the side of the pitch.

Seconds later the 17,000 Walsall fans also erupt as their red crest is revealed to the Wembley Stadium.

2:41 With 20 minutes to go the atmosphere is really building up as the players depart the pitch for the last bit of preparation. before kick-off.

2:31 With 30 minutes to go until kick-off for the League Two Play-off Final let’s look at how each team got to the Play-Off final

Walsall FC: Walsall beat Chesterfield 4-1 on aggregate after winning the first leg 0-2 at the SMH Group Stadium.

In the first game the scorers were Taylor Allen and Alfie Chang.

In the away leg goal scorers were Charlie Akin and Levi Amantchi.

AFC Wimbledon: The Dons beat Notts County in both legs 1-0.

In the away leg the only goal scorer was Riley Harbottle assisted by Jake Reeves.

In the home leg the only goal scorer was Josh Neufville and the assist was provided by Joe lewis.

2:14 The Walsall players have entered the pitch to an extremely loud cheer from the travelling fans from the West Midlands despite the fact that Wimbledon have brought 28,500 fans compared to their 17,000.

2:12 The AFC Wimbledon have entered the pitch to a loud cheer from the fans over on my right hand side.

2:01 The Walsall team news is in and it is unchanged from the team that beat Chesterfield.

Tommy Simikin (GK), David Okagbue, Harry Williams, Taylor Allen, Nathan Asiiwme, Alfie Change, Ryan Stirk, Liam Gordon, George Hall, Jamille Matt (C), Jamie Jellis

2:01 AFC Wimbledon team news is in and it is unchanged from the team that beat Notts County.

Owen Goodman (Gk), Riley Harbottle, Joe Lewis, Ryan Johnson, James Tilley, Alistair Smith, Jake Reeves (C), Myles Hippolyte, Josh Neufville, Marucs Browne, Matthew Stevens

2:01 ONE HOUR UNTIL KICK-OFF! But why is the game getting underway a minute past the hour mark?

All play-off games will kick-off a minute later than scheduled due to Sky Betโ€™s partnership with the British Heart Foundation as part of the โ€˜Every Minute Mattersโ€™ campaign โ€“ an initiative to inspire supporters to learn CPR and have the skills needed to save someoneโ€™s life.

AFC Wimbledon player Sam Hutchinson sadly suffered a heart-attack on the final day of the season, but that could stop the former Chelsea player. 

Johnnie Jackson will be without defender Hutchinson at Wembley, after he bravely shared that he suffered a heart attack during a 1-0 win at Grimsby town. Yet remarkably continued playing and scored the winning goal in the 52nd minute of the match! 

1:20 After enjoying a lovely burger in the media lounge we headed out to interview the fans with our reporter Owen Bolger. These can be checked out here ๐Ÿ‘‡

@solentsportsjournalism @Owen Bolger interviewing AFC Wimbledon and Walsall FC fans before their league two play-off final game at Wembley. #fyp #wembley #playoff โ™ฌ original sound – Solent Sports News

12:39 Some key statistics ahead of todays League Two Play-Off Final

Both teams come into the play-off final with unbeaten records. 

For AFC Wimbledon, this includes a 2-0 victory against Plymouth Argyle in their only prior final appearance in May 2016 when they were last promoted from League Two.

This will be the third time that Walsall have played in an EFL play-off final, winning each of their prior clashes against Bristol City in a replay in May 1988 (4-0) and against Reading in May 2001 (3-2).

Walsall were unbeaten across their two meetings with the Dons this season (W1 D1).

Since the start of 2019, Walsall have won just two of their league games in London (D4 L6

Only four sides across the Football League this season (Inc Playoffs) have kept more clean sheets than AFC Wimbledon (23) This is seven better than they ever managed have before. 

This is a matchup between the best attack and the best defense in the league, with Walsall scoring 75 goals and Wimbledon conceding only 35.

Mat Sadler and Johnnie Jackson will both be looking to get their first promotions from league Two today. 

12:24 WE HAVE ARRIVED! Despite being stuck in the lift we have made it and are ready to provide you coverage throughout the game so stay tuned.

Related Posts

AFC Wimbledon v Walsall League Two Play-Off Final match report 1-0: A Myles Hippolyte wonder strike wins it for the Dons at Wembley

Wembley Stadium, the last time the Three Lions played an Alzheimer's Society Friendly.

Preview: AFC Wimbledon and Walsall are Wembley bound for the League Two Play-Off Final.

Charlton 1-0 Leyton Orient: The Addicks conquer Wembley again to seal their place in the Championship

About Ed Groves

View all posts by Ed Groves →