The first round of the Minor A hurling championship began last Wednesday evening on the old pitch at Hennessy park, where the Clooney-Quin under-18’s endured tough weather conditions against tricky opposition in the shape St. Josephs Doora-Barefield. It was a convincing victory on the scoreboard at full time with Clooney-Quin running out 9 point victors on a scoreline of 1-18 to 0-12. However, it never really felt that comfortable to the limited attendees on the night. The visitors were missing some key performers of the past but settled better in the opening stages taking a 3 point lead before Clooney-Quin registered a score. Once the young men of Clooney-Quin got motoring with a Shane Harrison point, they gradually, yet convincingly, asserted their influence on the game with Callum Hassett and Colm Cassidy keeping the scoreboard moving before the first water break. The St. Josephs wing forward, Eoghan Talty was causing the Clooney-Quin defence some problems before John Connelly and Eoin Guilfoyle managed to get on top with impressive performances from the half-backline. If there was any doubt, a Harrison goal before half time signaled that the home team had settled into the game. Despite some quiet periods up front, possibly due to the unseasonably inclement conditions, the Clooney-Quin attack went on to dominate their opponents with four of the starting six contributing to the scoreboard on more than one occasion. Despite some two-point flurries by St. Josephs, the Clooney-Quin men had answers with the forward back being supported by their midfield teammate Darragh Keogh who quelled any signs of a comeback with a few lovely scores from play in the final quarter. A nervy start in this first round derby encounter turned into a solid team performance. The defence was on top throughout with little threat outside of Talty and some spells from the full forward. Some smart combination play up front served the team well in deteriorating conditions but no doubt, there will be tougher tests ahead. On the same evening, a young Minor C team lost out to a physically strong Éire Óg outfit on a scoreline of 4-14 to 2-13. With a bye in round 2, the Minor A team will look to maintain the winning momentum through a month of a break before facing Scariff/Ogonnelloe on August 26th, while the Minor C team seek to turn things around against Corofin/Ruan on August 12th.