Mrs Lisbie’s soul food fuels Orient
KEVIN LISBIE has had his wife to thank for fuelling Leyton Orient all season but the evergreen striker has decided to ban her cooking with Wembley in sight today.
The east London club compete for a place in the Championship when they take on Rotherham at Wembley in the League One play-off final.
And a large portion of their success this term can be traced back to the Lisbie family, and that is not just Kevin’s 18 goals.
The Jamaica striker’s wife, Joanne, has been providing the food for Orient’s away trips all season — and they finished with the third best record on their travels, losing only three.
But Lisbie revealed that his wife’s cooking has been put on hold for the final trip of the season, the 23 miles from Matchroom Stadium to Wembley, to ensure no one picks up any last-minute stomach bugs.
He said: ‘She has done it all through the season. The lads enjoy it. It helps after training on the way to an away game. We have only lost three away games. I am going to put that down to my missus’s cooking.
‘She cooks macaroni and cheese, rice, chicken — nothing too spicy. We travel halfway, then we train. Then we will jump back on the coach and eat it. It is Caribbean food and the lads love it.
‘But she won’t be cooking for the final — I don’t want her anywhere near it just in case anything happens and someone gets ill. We will eat at the hotel and we will do things properly.’
Lisbie describes this as the biggest game of a career which began nearly two decades ago.
It was this weekend 16 years ago that he was an unused substitute for Charlton in arguably the most memorable play-off match in history — when his south London club beat Sunderland on penalties to reach the Premier League after a 4-4 draw at the old Wembley.
And now he is determined to finally take his chance on the pitch. He added: ‘I was 19 at the time and to be part of that squad was a massive accomplishment for me.
‘I remember everything. From the beginning to the end and from the night until the morning. To be part of that is something you dream about.
‘You sit down and you dream it will be you one day. Scoring the winner or just being in the winning team. Please God that will be me on Sunday.’