Mandela Egbo on his Charlton Athletic debut, ‘jinky’ Jes Rak-Sakyi and Miles Leaburn’s impressive start to life in League One

Mandela Egbo will not be moaning about Charlton Athletic’s hectic fixture schedule after finally making his debut last weekend.

The 25-year-old defender suffered knee ligament damage against Dartford in July, his first appearance for the Addicks after opting to leave Swindon Town earlier in the summer.

And Egbo’s second-half performance in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Fleetwood Town was one of the big positives. The former Crystal Palace full-back was an attacking threat, hitting the woodwork with a cross, as well as being involved in the build-up to Miles Leaburn’s 77th-minute equaliser.

“It was refreshing to finally be able to help the lads out on the pitch,” Egbo told the South London Press. “It’s just been refreshing coming back to full training, getting out on the grass and amongst it – not to feel so sidelined.

“It was a bit of a bonus to play. It was my first time in the matchday squad, so I wasn’t necessarily expecting to get on. I was just happy to be involved and I definitely didn’t think I’d come on at half-time, because it’s not the most common thing. It was a bit of a shock.

“I stayed ready. I wanted to show I was fit enough, strong enough and sharp enough to go straight back in there.”

Egbo had a shot saved by Fleetwood keeper Jay Lynch as well as his delivery which came down off the bar – Jack Payne stretching every sinew with his dive but unable to make contact on the rebound.

“It would have been even better if it had gone in or just fallen to Payney,” said the former England U18 international. “We weren’t going to be happy with the first half and then sit on that bus ride having not given the performance we should have done.

“I don’t think it [Charlton playing better] was just down to myself. Yes, I came on – but there was a shape change and we stepped it up a couple more notches. That showed in the amount of chances that we had to even win the match.

“Hopefully whenever I’m called upon I can get more minutes in the coming weeks and months and get back to 100 per cent. Honestly, I feel pretty good at the minute.”

Charlton play 12 matches over the next seven weeks.

Egbo, who has missed the same amount since being on the receiving end of a late tackle at Princes Park, is relishing that schedule.

“Considering it is only mid-September it is almost unheard of for that amount of games to have been played already,” he said. “We normally start in early August and I’d maybe only have missed three or four games.

“I’ve been a bit unlucky, in that we started early this year and had so many fixtures. Now I’m buzzing that the matches are coming thick and fast. I’d love if every week was Tuesday-Saturday and I’m getting games under my belt.

“I love being out there. Like Scott Marshall [assistant coach] said a few weeks ago, footballers are never going to complain about playing football matches. Don’t take it for granted because one tackle and you can be on the sidelines for a couple of months, that’s not what you want.”

Egbo might now get the chance to strike up a partnership with Palace loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, 19, down the right flank. The teenager pointed where he wanted the ball played by Egbo, going on to send in a low cross which Leaburn deftly flicked into the net.

“Jes is so exciting to watch,” said Egbo, who opted to leave the Eagles for Borussia Monchengladbach when he was 17 in 2015. “I was injured when he came in, so I basically saw him the same way as the fans did on his debut.

“He is so fun to watch. Whenever he gets the ball, opposition defenders fall over. He has got jelly in his hips. We call it being jinky – he’s very jinky.

“He is such a good dribbler. If I do get to play with him then I’m just going to try and help him as much as I can, talk to him as much as possible and help him understand the game. I’m not a senior pro but I’m older than him. We came through the same academy. This is his first loan, so there is a lot of stuff that will be new to him.

“Talent-wise, he is up there. I struggle against him in training. Before the match that got cancelled after Her Majesty passed, there was a session we had and it’s just so hard to defend against him, I don’t know how you do it.

“He can go both sides and he was just slapping it bins with his left foot and right foot.

“His team absolutely had a field day in training and he was up there as one of the best performances. I’d much rather play with him than against him.”

Another youngster to seize their opportunity has been Leaburn. The young centre-forward, 18, has four goals in all competitions – putting him one ahead of Scott Fraser at the top of the club’s scoring charts.

The former Chelsea academy frontman is in his first season of senior football and is averaging a goal every 119 minutes.

“He is so cool and level-headed that you’d think he has been doing this for years,” said Egbo.

“No doubt he will keep going in the right direction. He has got a good team behind him – a strong family who love him and support him in everything he does. They will also keep his feet firmly on the ground as well.  You can tell from the type of lad that he is that he is very level-headed. He’s very focused, that’s probably the word I’d use.”

Charlton are 14th in the table going into tomorrow’s fixture at Barnsley.

“I don’t think it tells you that much until you have played 10 or 15 league games,” said Egbo.

“We’re getting towards playing the style that the gaffer wants – we probably need to string that over a whole 90 minutes. There have been 45, 60 and maybe 70 minutes – but I’m sure we’ll get to the point we’re playing solid and attractive football for the full 90.

“The stats from last season [at Swindon under Garner] tell you that we create chances and score goals. I’m sure we’ll come good, points-wise and performance-wise.

“Training has been the same as last year, tough and intense. In training the other day it was almost like kids enjoying themselves in the park. It was fun to watch and fun to be a part of – and exciting.”