A ruthless second-half performance from Down saw them brush London aside by 17 points in west London.
London were looking lively and eager to land the first punch in this contest and that's exactly what they did when Ciaran Diver opened the scoring in the opening stages.
That score woke their northern opponents up and Down hit back straight away, thanks to Daniel Guinness.
London native Shay Rafter would briefly put the hosts back in front.
Both sides struggled for a period to convert relatively easy chances into scores as they both kicked their share of wides.
The Mournemen were the ones to snap out of the poor finishing first and took the game by the scruff of the neck for a good period where they kicked four scores without reply. After equalising, Patrick Havern then nailed a free between the posts to put his county ahead for the first time.
Guinness and teammate Miceal Rooney were only too happy to oblige when they were given the space to do the needful and suddenly London found themselves needing to stop the flow of Down scores fast.
That’s exactly what they did, courtesy of scores from Driver and Ruari Rafferty, but they were pushed back to four points behind when Havern and Gareth McKibben raised white flags.
However, London would go into half-time well in the game when Diiver reduced the deficit to just three on the stroke of the referee’s whistle.
The shape and composure London had shown to go toe to toe with Down in the first half were absent in the second.
Down had reeled off four points in a row without reply from the hosts before they eased further ahead when Odhran Murdock dispatched his penalty to edge their lead into double-digits.
London could only register four scores in the second set of 35 minutes thanks to Rafter, Josh Obahor, Diver, and substitute Tighe Barry, who was a handful when introduced from the bench.
The eventual scoreline is harsh from a Thames-siders perspective, but the Ulster side were clinical in front of goal, underlining their status as one of the favourites for the Tailteann Cup.
Guinness, Murdock, Rooney and substitute Conor McCrickard all notched textbook scores to wrap up the impressive win.
London: Andrew Walsh; Eoin Walsh (Captain), Cahir Healy, Ciaran McKeon; Oran Kerr, Liam Gallagher, Aidan McLoughlin; Michael Carroll, Joshua Obahor (0-01); Stephen Dornan, Daniel Clarke, Ciaran Diver (0-05, 3f); Ruairi Rafferty (0-01), Shay Rafter (0-02, 2f), Fiontan Eastwood
Subs: Nathan McElwaine for Fiontan Eastwood (12’), DJ O’Flaherty for Michael Carroll (22’), Joseph McGill for Daniel Clarke (52’), Tighe Barry (0-01) for Liam Gallagher (59’), Michael Miller for Aidan McLoughlin (59’)
Down: John O’Hare; Peter Fegan, Ryan McEvoy (0-01), Paddy McCarthy; Ryan Magill (0-01), Pierce Laverty (Captain), Shealan Johnston; Daniel Guinness (0-06), Odhran Murdock (1-01); Miceal Rooney (0-05), Shane Annett, John McGovern; James Guinness, Patrick Havern (0-06, 3f), Gareth McKibben (0-01)
Subs: Danny McGill (0-02) for Shane Arnett (30’), Oisin Savage for Gareth McKibben (H/T), Eamonn Brown for James Guinness (53’), Conor McCrickard (0-01) for Shealan Johnston (55’), Jonny Flynn for Patrick Havern (64’)
Referee: Barry Tiernan (Dublin)
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