Leonard Stanley produced their best performance of the season to beat Stroud League Division 3(N) leaders Rising Stars and now they’re looking to kick on and end the season with a flourish.

Goals by Alfie Tremlin, Ryan Callinan and Freddy Cue earned them a 3-0 victory, only their third in 16 league games this season.

But they are running into form because it was their second 3-0 win in a row after they’d won at Trident the previous week to book their place in the last four of the League Cup.

Callinan got all three in that game and chairman and assistant manager Davyd Walker is delighted with the recent upturn.

“We’re a very young side, the average age is 18,” he said. “We are definitely the youngest team in the division and probably the league as well.

“We’ve been unlucky in some games but the boys are learning all the time. Hopefully these two wins will give them some confidence. It was a good performance against Rising Stars.”

Leonard Stanley are currently ninth in the 11-strong division, having played in Division One last season.

“The players have come through the club’s youth system,” continued Walker. “The only one who didn’t is my son-in-law Archie Trueman, who is 21. He joined the club when he was 17.

“The boys would like to play at as high a level as they can.”

Walker reckons the pick of Leonard Stanley’s goals against Rising Stars was scored by central midfielder Tremlin.

“He was the smallest player on the pitch – he’s about 5ft 6in – he headed home a long throw,” Walker said.

Leonard Stanley travel to fourth-placed Longlevens 4ths on Saturday before hosting Mavericks, also in the league, the following Saturday.

They also host Mavericks on Saturday 28^th March for a place in the final of the League Cup and Walker said: “They are second in the table. We lost 2-1 to them earlier in the season to a last-minute penalty. It will be close.”