Striker Tommy Wood has rejoined Tonbridge from Hampton & Richmond.

Wood scored 19 goals in 57 appearances in his first spell at Longmead, initially arriving on loan from AFC Wimbledon in February 2020 before signing a permanent deal.

The majority of those goals came in the second half of last season, with Wood ending the campaign as one of the hottest properties in National League South.

He was a player Jay Saunders tried hard to keep after succeeding Steve McKimm in the summer but work commitments saw him accept an offer closer to home from Hampton.

However, he’s back in Kent and ready to help Tonbridge's play-off bid.

There was plenty of competition for his signature but a return to Longmead appealed to the 24-year-old.

Wood could feature at Bath on Saturday and there's a quick return to Hampton on Tuesday night.

“Of all the players that were here when I came in, Tommy was the one I sat down with the longest,” said Saunders.

“I wanted him to stay but he had a new job and with the location it made sense for him to go to Hampton.

“Things have settled down with his job and we had a good chat.

“He’d been watching the highlights of our games and he said, ‘Blimey, I wish I was getting on the end of some of the chances you’re creating’.

“He had quite a few clubs in for him but he was keen to come back.

“Jordan Greenidge and Joe Turner have been working their socks off up there but it’s good to have another option, with Louis Collins out on loan getting games.

"I wasn’t so much looking to sign Tommy specifically but the opportunity to get him came up and we acted on it. I’m delighted to have him back at the club.”

Tonbridge’s long unbeaten run ended after an “awful” game at Chelmsford on Monday night.

Angels suffered a first defeat in nine matches in all competitions after Liam Trotter’s injury-time stunner gave City a 1-0 win.

The goal came in controversial circumstances after referee Abigail Byrne awarded a free-kick against Ben Swift for what appeared to be a clean tackle.

They defended the first ball but it dropped to Trotter, who pinched the points.

Tonbridge, who drew 2-2 with Concord on Saturday, have fallen seven points off the National South play-off places in 11th.

“To be honest, it was an awful game,” said Saunders after his side’s late defeat at Chelmsford.

“When I saw the state of the pitch it made my mind up to go as big as we could. You could see what sort of game it was going to be - a battle-up for 90 minutes.

“We’ve had two great chances in the first half, a header from Tommie Fagg that nine times out of 10 he’d score, and Jordan Greenidge should probably score, although he’s being held back, so you could argue we should have had a penalty.

“I don’t think either keeper’s had a save to make.

“It was low on quality, horrible to watch, but at 90 minutes you’re thinking we’ll take a point, and then the referee gives a free-kick against Swifty for a good tackle.

“Don’t get me wrong, it was a committed tackle, but a good tackle. They put the ball in, it comes back out and they score.

“Their manager and assistant manager said it was a great tackle when we were chatting on the sideline but there you go.

“The referee claimed it was reckless and out of control.

“I said should it not have been a red card then and she said, no, it’s amber, and she downgraded it to a yellow.

"I knew we’d lose at some point but it’s frustrating to lose like that when the boys worked as hard as they did.

“It’s football and things even themselves out. We’ve probably had games we’ve won where we’ve not been the better side.

“We’ve had a good run. To go seven games unbeaten at this level - eight with the Kent Cup - is not an easy thing to do.”