Armagh got such a head-start at Casement Park on Saturday evening that this result was sealed long before a very young Down staged a comeback. Armagh's purpose seemed to be twofold: don't judge them solely by their performance against Tyrone, and don't dismiss them just yet as a force in this championship.
Sure, Down managed two goals to warm the nerves a little bit. But that merely prevented some people from thinking about a refund, and also came at a time when one could hardly blame their opposition for a dose of daydreams.
"Well our confidence coming into this game was very low," said joint Armagh manager Brian Canavan. "But I think as the game progressed we started to play more like our old selves. That was a blip when Down got those two goals but you'll never get a cakewalk in games like this. And the lads probably could have done with a rap in the knuckles at that stage.
"It was the first half that won the match for us, and we played very well against the breeze."
Armagh certainly upped their performances since the Tyrone defeat. Kieran McGeeney was his rock solid best at centre back, pressing forward enough to kick two powerful points. John McEntee and Steven McDonnell burned right through Down's defence and Barry O'Hagan was tirelessly creative. Oisin McConville too was as sharp as ever.
They opened with such velocity that their three points after the first quarter hour was undoubtedly a poor return. When a combination from Paul McGrane, John McEntee and then McGeeney produced their fourth point, it was clear that Down were going to struggle. And they did.
Armagh were up 0-7 to 0-3 at half-time but the physical and psychological advantage was worth twice that. Shane Mulholland and Michael Walsh provided a few moments of response yet Down were walking on thin ice all over the field.
With no let-up from either John McEntee or McDonnell, Armagh piled on attack after attack. And nine minutes into the second half, a perfectly timed ball from McGeeney set up their goal, with Martin O'Rourke giving the final flick to McDonnell. Two more points without reply brought the lead to 11 points, 1-11 to 0-3.
Down's back-door route was now slammed shut but no one expected them to lie down without a fight. Mickey Linden's appearance sparked some new belief and two goals helped restore a little interest. The first involved a fumble between McGeeney and Brendan Coulter in front of goal, with the Down man claiming the decisive touch.
Paul Hearty, whose appearance in the Armagh goal ahead of the long-serving Brendan Tierney was the most radical change from the Tyrone game, could have done a little better to prevent the second. Instead, Linden fired home a loose rebound.
That reduced the gap to four points with just 10 minutes left to play. It could have got very interesting had Hearty not made a big block from Coulter a few minutes later, but Armagh restored their dominance and pressed home without further challenge.
The question now is how much better Armagh will feel after losing and then winning again. "I think we've focused our minds a little more," said Canavan, previously against the losers' group but for now a happy convert. "Some of the lads thought we would start the way we finished last year, but you have to build from round one and work up. So we are looking forward to the next fortnight right now."
