Tyrone 1-17 Down 4-8Just a minute while we catch our breath. Games like this are not easily assessed, nor good for the nerves. But what is certain is that Ulster had saved all its best football until last.

In the end a draw was the best antidote for such a wild swing of emotions. Defeat for either team would have been hard to handle. And especially in a game that produced two clearly defined moments when each team seemed to have found a hold on victory.

For Down that was early in the second half when they pulled nine points ahead, the result of a goal-scoring spree either side of half-time. They played out the game with 14 men and still were never far from the winning result.

For Tyrone the winning opportunity came with pressure of a different sort, and rather than defend a lead they almost stole one. With the clock deep in injury-time - and the scores level - two clear Tyrone chances to send the ball over the bar were squandered. So both teams come back to Clones next Sunday to go through it all again, and no doubt yesterday's crowd of 31,621 will be swelled a little further.

Overall it was a cracking game of football that simply rose to a crescendo of scores. It was about Down giving Tyrone a far more nervous 70 minutes than so many people had anticipated, and instead of playing like a team that were meant to win, Tyrone ended up playing like a team to trying to survive.

As is usual for a drawn game like this, both managers said afterwards that in the end the final whistle was a relief. Yet for Down manager Paddy O'Rourke it was harder to hide the regrets, and certainly the knowledge that four goals won't come as easy the next day.

Certainly it was those four goals that kept Down in contention. For the opening quarter hour they were barely containing Tyrone's intricate attacking movements, which at times moved like a wheel inside a wheel. With Eoin Mulligan on fire from the start and moving into several different attacking slots and the usual accompaniment from Peter Canavan, they soon had the scoreboard ticking over.

With the firm hands of goalkeeper Michael McVeigh, who made two massive saves in the opening quarter, Down would have been a lot more than three points behind after 20 minutes. Their midfield was struggling, with Greg McCartan far from his best, and Tyrone's great range of scoring talents - from wing back Conor Gormley to midfielder Seán Cavanagh - soon had the game drifting out in one direction.

Then the whole thing turned on its head shortly before half-time. Down had kept chasing hard and a point from Liam Doyle had reduced the margin to two, 0-8 to 0-6. With the clock then on added time, Down pressed ahead for a goal and had a man sent off.

The goal was beautifully executed, and their best of the afternoon. Michael Walsh had sent Brendan Coulter on a run down towards the end-line, and he outpaced Gormley, cut in towards the goalmouth, and slotted the ball perfectly into the net.

But a major blow was to follow. Tyrone won a free in midfield, but at the same time McCartan was half-tripped by Brian McGuigan. In response he threw the ball back at the Tyrone player, hit him in the head, and for that he saw a straight red card.

Doyle found time to add a free and leave Down in front 1-7 to 0-8 as the players went for their bread.

Still they were reduced to 14 men and needed to start the second half with something special. Two goals in two minutes probably qualifies as exactly that.

First in for the goal was Doyle, following a superb build-up from Walsh and Coulter. Next came full forward Dan Gordon, only 19 and the baby of Down's youthful forwards. Brian Dooher had controversially had his free sent the other way, and was played short to John Lavery. A high ball then fell to Gordon and his height advantage helped him fist the ball into the net.

Now leading 3-7 to 0-8 it seemed it couldn't get any better for Down. But it did. The next two Tyrone attacks came to nothing, the first blocked down, and the second sent wide. Instead Ronan Sexton cleared up Coulter for another cutting run, and his point extended Down's lead to nine points.

With 25 minutes remaining there was still lots of football to play, and it was almost all played by Tyrone. Canavan started the fight back with a sweetly placed penalty on 48 minutes, and then the points came thick and fast.

Brian McGuigan showed up for a lot more ball in the Tyrone attack, and just after the hour mark he helped level the scores by winning another free for Canavan to convert. Incredibly, Down hit straight back with the fourth goal, again fisted by Gordon following a high free from Doyle - their first score in 20 minutes, and it was to be their last.

So Tyrone played out the game with near total possession. Mulligan, Ciarán Gourley and then a free from Canavan levelled the scores yet again. But a last chance free for Canavan was played short to Gormley and ultimately wasted, and a later effort still by Ryan McMenamin drifted out wide. Down had survived for another day, and it would have been hard to see them denied it.

TYRONE: J Devine; R McMenamin, C Lawn, D Carlin; C Gormley (0-1), D McCrossan, P Jordan (0-1); C McAnallen, S Cavanagh (0-2); B Dooher (0-1), B McGuigan (0-1), K Hughes (0-1); E McGinley, P Canavan (1-6, five frees, one penalty), E Mulligan (0-3). Subs: C Gourley (0-1) for McCrossan (42 mins), B Robinson for Lawn (65 mins).

DOWN: M McVeigh; J Clarke, M Cole, B Burns (0-1); J Lavery, A O'Prey, A Molloy; S Ward, G McCartan (0-1, one free); L Doyle (1-4, three frees), R Sexton, B Coulter (1-1); M Walsh, D Gordon (2-1), R Murtagh. Subs: J McCartan for Murtagh (49 mins), S King for Sexton (55 mins), M Linden for Ward (63 mins), P McCartan for Walsh (63 mins).

Referee: A Mangan (Kerry).