A FIXTURE from the basement, a game from the top drawer. Nobody expected much from this meeting of the minnows except a comfortable Tipperary victory. Limerick defied the expectations, however, and in doing so presented the paltry attendance with a cracking championship game.

At the end, the sages pronounced that the draw was "a fair result". Limerick might dispute this. Their manager, Dave Quirke, felt his side had done enough to win. His counterpart, Paddy Morrissey, said Tipperary had got a "major warning".

It had looked much more than a warning when Limerick mid fielder John Quane - he had a great game - barrelled into the Tipperary square and buried his shot in the net with eight minutes remaining. It should have devastated Tipperary they had Just retrieved a five point deficit with six points in a row to take the lead for the first time in the 60th minute.

To their credit, Tipperary climbed back a second time. Centre forward John Owens, who had shown tremendous leadership all through, pulled a point back. Brian Burke then equalised with three minutes left but Limerick pulled another rabbit from the bat - substitute Noel Frewen scoring from distance.

Tipperary, however, had quality in their full forward line and Declan Browne proved it with a cool finish in the final minute.

Brown had had a frustrating first 35 minutes, culminating in a missed penalty just on halftime. After the interval, however, he scored six points, five from play. Peter Lambert in the other corner also did significant damage, providing assists as well as points.

Limerick corner forward Derek Ryan was similarly incisive, shooting five from play. His was the more wasteful side, however, and 13 wides ensured that the margin, though five points at one stage, was never irretrievable.

Limerick led at the interval 0-8 to 0-5. However, they had the momentum of a strong breeze in the first half and Tipperary were fancied to thrive on it. They did, score 11 points, but Limerick swiftly established their defiance with a Ryan point straight after the break.

Morrissey acknowledged that Limerick were the hungrier side and it showed kicks blocked down, forward working back, defenders hanging in. The latter was typified by a crucial Den is Reidy interception in the 50th minute, arriving back into the square to snatch a pass on its way to Brown - a goal almost certainly averted.

At midfield, the veterans Quane and Donal Fitzgibbon weighed in with trenchant performances, slugging it out with Derry Foley and Criostoir McGrath. Foley made a substantial contribution, scoring three from play.

Some of the 29 points scored were brilliant efforts from a variety of angles and distances. But there were also many reminders that two teams from Division Four were in action.