A tenacious Rathgormack side overcame youthful Stradbally at Dungarvan yesterday. Martin Power pointed inside 30 seconds of the start for the determined winners, and the lead was never relinquished.

Rathgormack led 0-8 to 0-2 at the interval: Stradbally, playing against the wind, had to wait 21 minutes for their opening score, a Niall Curran point from a free.

The only goal of the game came at the end of the third quarter when Martin Power's 30-metre shot went all the way to the net: it proved to be an important score as it was the winners' last. Stradbally scored four unanswered points in the last quarter, but could not demolish the three-point Rathgormack margin. The outstanding Rathgormack full-back line of Kevin Power, Jason Crotty and Victor O'Shea thwarted repeated attacks in the closing stages.

RATHGORMACK: P Fahy; K Power, J Crotty, V O'Shea; D Crotty, N Murray, D Hassett; R Power (0-2), T Bolger; E Hogan (0-1), M Power (1-3), J Murray (0-1); F Halpin (0-1), G Power (0-1), P Crotty. Sub: A Power for G Power.

STRADBALLY: K Cunningham; K Coffey, O Costelloe (0- 1), T Walsh; L Walsh, G Walsh, S Keane; J Hearne, T Costelloe (0-1); J Coffey, G Power, T Curran (0-1); N Curran (0-2), S Cunningham (0-1), E O'Brien (0-3). Sub: E Clancy for Keane.

Referee: R O'Neill (Ferrybank).