Lisbie, Burton net doubles but King turns villain
LONDON, England (CMC) — Former Reggae Boyz stars Kevin Lisbie and Deon Burton lashed braces to propel their respective clubs to victory, but Marlon King proved the villain as Birmingham City suffered defeat in the English leagues on Saturday.
Lisbie was behind Leyton Orient’s 2-0 defeat of Bury in League One, while the former World Cup star Burton helped Gillingham to a 2-1 victory over Rotherham in League Two.
King, a Jamaican international who recently quit the national side, scored an own goal that saw Birmingham lose 1-0 at Wolves in the Championship.
Playing at the Molineux in the West Midlands derby, King made a hash of a clearance and inadvertently banged the ball past his goalkeeper Jack Butland in the 34th minute.
The misfortune proved the turning point in the game as neither side could find the nets legitimately for the remainder of the contest.
At the New York Stadium, Burton scored in either half as the visitors overcame a spirited challenge from the home side.
The 36-year-old frontman, who spent a year at Rotherham six years ago, put Gillingham in front from close range after 11 minutes and returned in the 57th minute to clinically fire home from the edge of the box. Jason Taylor pulled one back in the 69th minute but Gillingham held on for the points.
At Gigg Lane in the north-west, Lisbie, too, scored on either side of half-time as the visiting London side came away with the honours.
The veteran opened the scoring when he converted Dean Cox’s pass in the 31st minute and was on target again when he eluded his marker to stab home from close range following Lee Cook’s corner.