Ex-Gillingham striker to sign off at Wembley

Popular former Gillingham striker Adebayo Akinfenwa will be signing off at Wembley.

Akinfenwa, who turns 40 this week, is retiring at the end of the season after an impressive playing career in the lower divisions, including two stints with the Gills.

A month ago he was back playing at Priestfield with his Wycombe Wanderers team, who are now into the League 1 play-off final after beating MK Dons over two legs.

Akinfenwa was an unused substitute on Sunday as MK Dons beat Wycombe 1-0, which wasn’t enough to overcome their 2-0 first-leg deficit.

The striker’s first season with the Gills was in 2010/11 under Andy Hessenthaler, scoring 11 goals that season and ably assisting Cody McDonald to 25, the pair forging a successful partnership together.

He left for Northampton but after two seasons there returned for the 2013/14 campaign after Martin Allen had guided the Gills back to League 1. During that year the Akinfenwa-McDonald partnership again produced the bulk of the team’s goals, scoring 27 between them.

Two years later he was a Wembley winner with AFC Wimbledon in the League 2 play-off final, scoring a 90th minute penalty for the victors.

In 2020 he was at Wembley again, this time for Wycombe, as they won a place in the Championship, just two years after Akinfenwa’s goals had earned them promotion from League 2.

He’ll be hoping for another successful day out for Wycombe, who will play Sunderland in the final, after they beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 on aggregate.

The play-off final will take place at Wembley on Saturday, May 21.

Already promoted to the Championship are Wigan and Rotherham, while the Gills, Doncaster, Wimbledon and Crewe have been relegated.