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Toby Ajala has spent time at a plethora of clubs, but for AFC Wimbledon fans, he will forever be a hero

It's 2012, and having overcome York City in the FA Cup first round, thanks to a thrilling replay, AFC Wimbledon are drawn against Milton Keynes Dons, the club set up after Wimbledon FC were relocated to Milton Keynes.

This would be the first competitive meeting of the two since fans, in protest of the FA's decision, had set up AFC Wimbledon. All players that played that day, regardless of the result, would go down in folklore. However, a little-known Bristol City loanee was about to make himself a cult-hero forever more.

Toby Ajala had only joined the club on loan a few weeks prior, but with one swift, and rather rough action, he gained the love of many Wimbledon fans for years to come.

Toby Ajala's short, but memorable, stint at AFC Wimbledon

Having taken over the managerial hotseat at the start of October, Neal Ardley was keen to add a few players to his squad to bulk it out and prepare for the onslaught of matches that the winter period brings to English football.

Ajala, having signed a new deal with the Robins, was bought in on a short term loan in late November to not only help with Ardley's desire to bolster the squad, but to help develop him further.

Rather dauntingly, he was handed his debut in the FA Cup tie against Wimbledon's bitter rivals, a tough task for any youngster to handle. However, he was about to not only notch his only goal contribution for the entirety of his spell, but he was about to also get himself firmly into the good books with any and all Dons fans watching.

Having gone in at the break a goal down, the Dons rallied at the start of the second half, and just before the clock struck the hour mark, Ajala received the ball out on the wing and swung in a hopeful cross. Jack Midson, who later on in the season would add another feather to his Wimbledon folklore cap, met the cross with an excellent diving header to level the game at one goal apiece.

However, despite battling hard to bring the game back to Kingsmeadow for a replay, the Dons would concede a late goal that won the tie for MK. That isn't before Ajala wrote himself, or rather, slid himself into the memories of Dons fans forever.

With the game in it's dying embers, before MK would go on to win, Ajala went in hard and fast on Dean Lewington, a name hated by all Wimbledon fans, flying into a tackle that sent the former Wimbledon FC academy player, and now MK Dons captain, flying into the air, screaming with pain.

Ironically, Ajala did not receive any worse punishment than a yellow card for what many Wimbledon fans would call 'heroic actions'. However, this game proved to be the only game he ever truly had an impact on.

For the remainder of his short loan spell, the Newham-born midfielder would only register two more assists, but not manage to score a goal, meaning he ended what first appeared to be a promising spell on loan to develop, in a rather mediocre way.

Toby Ajala: "Moments like that don’t come around too often"

Leaving the club in January, Ajala had hoped that he would be able to contribute a little more to the efforts to keep Wimbledon in the EFL. However, he left with plenty of positivity, not only about his memorable contribution in the FA Cup, but about the fate of his teammates come the end of the season.

Speaking to the Wimbledon Guardian back in 2013, Ajala said, "I want to thank the fans for everything they have given me. There has been so much support on Twitter and from the stands.

"There have been times when my head has gone down and I’ve not played well, but the support really lifts you and I hope I have repaid them.

"I believe the boys will stay up. There is a great quality in this team that is beginning to come through.

"We seem to struggle to keep hold of a lead, but that will change.

"The boys are confident, I am confident. It would have been nice to stay and help."

Making reference to his Dons debut in the FA Cup, and the memories he made in that game, Ajala continued: "The FA Cup in Milton Keynes was a fantastic moment, when Jack’s header went in and the crowd behind the goal went crazy. They came onto the pitch and it was just mental.

"That will stick with me forever – and it was my first game too and I supplied the cross, so that was even better.

"Moments like that don’t come around too often, and it was disappointing to go on and lose. Despite the result, it was something special to be part of."

Where has Toby Ajala been since leaving AFC Wimbledon?

Since leaving the club following the expiry of his short loan, Ajala would go on to make his debut for Bristol City, but still leave them at the end of the 2012-13 season, when his contract expired.

Since then, the now 32-year-old, soon to be 33 later this month, has bounced around a multitude of non-league clubs, with his most successful stints at clubs being with Torquay United, twice, and with Glebe FC.

He was most recently with Faversham Town, signing for the Kent-based club in January 2023, who at the time were under the stewardship of a firm favourite at the Dons, Sammy Moore.

However, he does not appear to have made an appearance for the side, and has since left, with no information about whether he has found himself a new club.

Regardless of how his footballing career has panned out since, Ajala himself, as he admitted back in 2013, made memories for a lifetime in that game with MK, and despite not being remembered for his football at the Dons, there will always be an image bounced around, especially before any meeting with the club from Milton Keynes, that fans can remember Toby Ajala by.