Donegal 1-13 Tyrone 0-06
Donegal coasted to an emphatic 1-13 to 0-06 victory which pushed rivals Tyrone closer to relegation from Division 1 of the Allianz Football League.
Skipper Michael Murphy kicked six points in Ballybofey but was black-carded in the 59th minute, his third dismissal of this league campaign, which means he will be suspended for next Sunday's final league game against Mayo.
Ryan McHugh scored the only goal of the game in the 31st minute with Donegal taking advantage of a strong wind to lead by 1-9 to 0-3 at half time.
Tyrone only managed two points from play in the entire game in a very disappointing display by Mickey Harte's side, who can still avoid relegation if they beat Kerry by two points or more in Omagh next Sunday.
Donegal preserved their Division 1 status in style, while continuing their winning run over their Ulster rivals.
Tyrone will return to Ballybofey on 17 May for an Ulster championship preliminary round clash with Donegal and this performance was quite a statement of intent by Rory Gallagher's side.
They totally bossed the first half, Michael Murphy taking advantage of a strong wind at his back to treat the 8,500 crowd to a series of superb dead ball strikes.
The former All-Ireland winning captain kicked five points in the first half, four from frees, and three of them were monster efforts from a full 60m.
Murphy kicked a point and a free in the opening three minutes before Darren McCurry's free got Tyrone on the board.
The Red Hands were unable to penetrate Donegal's defensive wall and frequently turned the ball over, with Donegal breaking at speed and Martin McElhinney (two) and Neil McGee picking off nice scores.
Ronan O'Neill, a late inclusion in Tyrone's starting team, scored the visitors' only point from play in the first half in the 12th minute.
It was only brief respite for Mickey Harte's side, who were outfought in every department while Murphy's incredible long-distance free-taking punished every mistake.
The Glenswilly man did earn one dubious close-range free to put Donegal 0-8 to 0-3 ahead after 29 minutes, but otherwise, Donegal thoroughly deserved every score they got.
Ryan McHugh followed up his match-winning goal for the county U21s with a goal for the seniors in the 31stminute.
Frank McGlynn's attempt for a point came off the upright and Hugh McFadden's rebound shot was partially blocked. McHugh pulled on the loose ball on the ground to tap it into the net.
With Tyrone now all at sea, Odhran MacNiallais skipped forward and had plenty of time to steady himself before shooting Donegal into a 1-9 to 0-3 lead by half time.
The game was effectively over at the break, leaving Tyrone playing only for pride in the second half.
Yet they were unable to even win the second half with the wind at their backs, and failed to score for 33 minutes either side of half time until Peter Harte landed a free and a point in quick succession in the 47thminute.
Murphy was dismissed for pulling down Sean Cavanagh 11 minutes from the end. After picking up a black card against Dublin and being sent-off for two yellow card offences against Cork, this was his third dismissal earning him a one-match ban.
The impressive Martin McElhinney also picked up a black card late on as the game descended into a scrappy, bad-tempered affair, but the result was a formality from a long way out.
Scorers for Donegal – M Murphy 0-6 (5f), R McHugh 1-1, M McElhinney 0-2, N McGee, F McGlynn, O MacNiallais 0-1 each, P McBrearty 0-1 (f)
Scorers for Tyrone – P Harte 0-2 (1f), D McCurry, C McAliskey, S Cavanagh 0-1 (f) each, R O'Neill 0-1
DONEGAL: M Boyle; F McGlynn, N McGee, E McGee; R McHugh, K Lacey, E Doherty; N Gallagher, M McElhinney; O MacNiallais, M Murphy, C Toye; P McBrearty, M O'Reilly, H McFadden
Subs: C McFadden for Gallagher (56), A Thompson for Murphy (BC, 60), D McLaughlin for McElhinney (BC, 67), M McHugh for R McHugh (67), G McFadden for N McGee (69), D Walsh for O'Reilly (70)
TYRONE: N Morgan; C McCarron, J McMahon, R McNamee; C Clarke, R McNabb, A McCrory; C Cavanagh, P McNulty; T McCann, M Donnelly, P Harte; D McCurry, R O'Neill, C McAliskey
Subs: S Fox for Morgan (20), S Cavanagh for O'Neill (HT), C McCann for McNulty (39), P Hughes for McAliskey (39), R McKenna for Clarke (42), P Hughes for C Cavanagh (60)
REFEREE: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)
