Tonbridge Angels striker Noel Leighton to play on dual-registration with former club Three Bridges

Fit-again Tonbridge striker Noel Leighton is set to turn out for his old club to build match sharpness.

Leighton, 25, made his Angels debut as a second-half substitute in a 2-2 with draw Hampton & Richmond on Saturday.

The National League South high-fliers are keen to get him up to speed after recovering from a pre-season ankle injury.

With that in mind, he’s been dual-registered with Three Bridges, the Isthmian South East club where he scored 41 goals last season.

The Sussex side have plenty of midweek games coming up for Leighton to work on his match fitness.

“We’re going to let him game some games at Three Bridges on dual-registration on Tuesday nights when we haven’t got games,” said Angels boss Jay Saunders.

“The quicker we can get him up to speed, the better, because he is different to what we’ve got.

“If we put balls in the box, he can cause problems.

“We want him playing games and it works well for us that Three Bridges have got Tuesday night games.

“They accept there might be Saturdays when he’s with us and not them.”

Leighton was introduced on 70 minutes with Tonbridge trailing Hampton 2-1 and their unbeaten record under threat.

He gave the Beavers defence something to think about as Saunders’ side claimed a point with an injury-time penalty.

“I’m pleased to get him out there,” said the manager.

“He had a couple of nice little touches.

“I’m sure he was feeling it because you can train all you like but when you come on, that first 10 minutes is tough, but he’ll be better for it.”

Saunders is looking to strengthen in attack after releasing Timmy Abraham.

Abraham scored the second goal in Angels’ 2-0 win over St Albans this season but wasn’t seen as a long-term option.

“It’s still an area we’d like to improve and