Galway United gave their hopes of staying up a huge boost as the beat 10-man Finn Harps in Ballybofey.
Gavan Holohan opened the scoring on 13 minutes with a neat finish. Harps should have been level just short of the half hour only for Galway goalkeeper Conor Winn to push away Eddie Dsane's spot-kick.
Dsane atoned for his error as he headed Caolan McAleer's cross past Ciaran Gallagher seconds before the break.
Ollie Horgan's side were reduced to 10 men early in the second half when Paddy McCourt was dismissed for a second booking.
United never looked back as Ronan Murray netted a brace to hand the Connaught men their first win on the road in the league this year.
The result sees Galway move to within two points of the Donegal men.
Making his home debut, Mark Timlin had the home support on their feet five minutes in but his free kick shot narrowly past Winn's front post.
Jonah Ayunga was handed his first start for United since his move from Sligo earlier this week and played his part in the game's opener. The Kenyan fed the ball into the path of Holohan who clipped the ball over Gallagher for his fifth goal in three games.
The Tribesmen had Winn to thank shortly after as he diverted Dsane's deflected effort away from goal.
The towering goalkeeper played his part against his former club once more on 28 minutes when Dsane was tripped by Paul Sinnott inside the area. The striker stepped up but was denied from 12 yards by a superb one-handed save courtesy of the agile Winn.
Harps play-maker McCourt was the man on the spot five minutes from the break when he scooped Stephen Folan's effort off the line as Galway pressed for a second.
The Donegal men resorted parity in the first minute of added time. Caolan McAleer broke down the Harps right side on the counter after Murray's weak free-kick was cleared first time. The jinking McAleer finding Dsane who nodded past Winn from close range for his fourth goal in five outings.
Harps' assignment was made that bit tougher when McCourt was dismissed for a second yellow card six minutes into the second period when he impeded Colm Horgan.
United struggled to break down a stubborn Harps rearguard from play for a period and Gallagher was on hand to pull off a superb reaction save from Murray on 68 minutes, eight minutes before Galway edged back into the lead through a set-piece.
Stephen Folan was upended 25 yards from goal before Murray's free-kick from 25 yards sailed effortlessly into the top corner for the attacker's tenth goal of the year.
Things got even better for Shane Keegan's side seven minutes from time.
Murray profitted from a mix up in the home defence and with Gallagher committed, the former Notts County man was left with a simple finish to hand United their first away win in the league since the second week of the 2016 season.
Finn Harps: Ciaran Gallagher; Kilian Cantwell, Packie Mailey (Ibrahim Keita 77), Ciaran Coll, Gareth Harkin (Damien McNulty 40); Mark Timlin, Sean Houston, Paddy McCourt, Ethan Boyle, Caolan McAleer (Pascal Millien 86); Eddie Dsane.
Galway United: Conor Winn; Colm Horgan, Paul Sinnott, Stephen Folan, Marc Ludden; Kevin Devaney (Gary Shanahan 91), David Cawley, Alex Byrne (Ronan Manning 66), Gavan Holohan; Ronan Murray; Jonah Ayunga (Eoin McCormack 94).
Referee: Neil Doyle
