Down came to Clones for this All-Ireland quarter-final on Saturday declaring that their intention was to give credibility to Ulster hurling. A haul of three goals and eight points gave the declaration substance, but the credibility of the hurling championship itself remains in doubt this weekend as two teams already beaten in the championship are still in contention for the McCarthy Cup.

That serious doubt, on a weekend which saw Croke Park closed to Gaelic games, has nothing to do with the effort which Down put into this match. Their loyalty to the game remains totally intact.

What Tipperary may make of their good fortune remains for discussion on another day.

It has to be said that Clones provided a hospitable and quite magnificent setting for a game of this importance. Many Tipperary followers were impressed by the excellence of the pitch itself and the facilities. Yet there was an air of unreality about the operation which not even the crowd of 5,726 alleviated. Tipperary seniors and Clare minors both came away from the venue convinced that the gods had smiled upon them. They had both been defeated in their own province and now had come to the weakest hurling province in the country and been given a second chance.

The Tipperary seniors now face a quite undeserved tilt at the All-Ireland champions, Wexford, in an All-Ireland semi-final. Their chances of reaching the final would appear to be slim if one considers the fact that they conceded three goals in the second half of this encounter.

It would be unfair to blame their defence too much for the concession of these scores. Before the goals went in the match was well won. From the moment in the first half when the young Tipperary full forward, Eugene O'Neill scored their first goal on his first appearance for the Tipperary senior team in the championship Down's hopes were dashed.

By half-time Tipperary had established a grip upon the game. They had a lead of 1-13 to 0-4 and Down, for all their courage and determination, were out of the frame.

To their eternal credit they never gave up trying, and when the Tipperary defence slackened its grip on the game in the third quarter of the match they showed considerable energy and spirit.

What is always obvious in matches of this sort is that the stronger teams, such as Tipperary even at their most vulnerable, feel more at home with their methods of gaining possession.

Teams like Down or Antrim or Dublin find it increasingly difficult to get control of the sliotar. That expert first touch which seems to come naturally to the stronger teams eludes teams like Down; two or three attempts to bring the ball to stick or hand are needed. This was particularly noticeable among the Down players on Saturday. At this level of the game, time is a very valuable commodity. Only four or five players seemed to be able to take advantage of being first to the ball.

It was also clearly obvious that Down had not identified the dangers which lurked in a policy which allowed John Leahy so much time and space.

The Tipperaryman is widely believed to be one of the best players that the county has produced, and yet he was given so much time and space that he meandered through the match as though on a Sunday stroll.

His tally of eight points, four of them from play, two from frees, and one each from a sideline cut and a 65, underlined his excellence. How Down could give him so much latitude for his skills baffled many observers.

From Tipperary's point of view this was a useful exercise. Particularly useful was the opportunity to allow Aidan Ryan back into contention for a place in the side. His appearance at half-time was greeted with considerable pleasure by a section of the Tipperary supporters in the crowd, and every time he came near the ball he was given full-throated encouragement.

His tally of one goal and two points will have sharpened his appetite for the game after threats of retirement. It remains to be seen whether or not he will get into the side which starts the semi-final.

Although the Tipperary defence will come in for some criticism for allowing three goals to be scored against them, it can be said that, when Down were at their liveliest in the early part of the match they were sound and unyielding. They conceded only five points from play during the game.

Down can feel that they gave a good account of themselves. The margin might have been much wider were it not for a fine display in goal by Graham Clarke. Their half-back line of Martin Mallon, Michael Branniff and Martin Coulter senior were steady under the severest pressure. Noel Sands and Gerard McGrattan were the best of a forward line which needed a sharper edge.

Tipperary's midfield pairing of Tomas Dunne and Conor Gleeson dominated that sector and, while Leahy took most of the credit in the attack, Tipperary will be happy enough with the performances of players like Brian O'Meara, Liam Cahill and newcomer Eugene O'Neill in the attack.