In-form Gala Wilton head to Rockleaze Rangers tomorrow looking to build on the fantastic start that they have made to the County League season.

Five wins and a draw from their opening seven games have catapulted them to the top of the 15-strong division but while those stats are impressive they don’t tell the whole the story.

That’s because in those seven games they’ve also banged in 27 goals, half-a-dozen of which came in the 6-2 hiding they handed out to Broadwell Amateurs six days ago.

Ryan Dobbins was among the goalscorers last weekend as he has been pretty much all season.

“He’s scored 12 in nine league and cup games, including three hat-tricks,” said joint manager Ian Merrick.

“He plays off the shoulder and runs the channels well, he’s an absolute workhorse.

“He played for us a couple of seasons ago and scored 19 in 24 games.

“His record is phenomenal, he’s absolutely clinical in front of goal and he’s good in the air for someone who is quite diminutive.

“He came back to us at the end of last season after playing for Tuffley and scored three goals in two games that helped keep us up.”

The fact that Gala Wilton were battling against relegation for all of last season makes the turnaround in their fortunes all the more impressive of course.

Dan Gillespie has come in to work alongside Merrick as joint manager – Merrick is in his fourth season in the hot-seat – and Merrick added: “We’ve brought in seven or eight new players and it just seems to have clicked.

“I was hoping for a mid-table finish this season but at the moment we’re surpassing all expectations.”

And while Dobbins has obviously played a leading role, Gala Wilton are by no means a one-man team.

“Martin Smith has returned to do the club and has done really well,” continued Merrick. “He’s a midfield powerhouse and has also chipped in with some goals.

“James Bowers came from Cheltenham Saracens and has scored six goals in seven or eight games, he’s a left or right winger.

“We’ve got a very young squad, our goalkeeper Lewis Skyers is the oldest player at 35.”

Skyers will be hoping for a quiet afternoon at Rockleaze tomorrow although that’s not guaranteed because the home side have made a pretty good start to the season themselves.

They’ve won four of their opening six league games and if they beat Gala they would go within a point of the current leaders.