Donegal finished strongly to thwart Tyrone's bid for a seventh successive Dr McKenna Cup title at the Athletic Grounds this evening.

Declan Bonner's side have nothing to show for three promising performances in the Allianz FL Division 1 to date but they got their hands on some silverware thanks to a 1-16 to 1-12 victory over the Red Hand County.

A lively encounter saw Harry Loughran (Tyrone) and Martin McElhinney trade goals in the opening quarter and the Tir Chonaill oufit led by 1-9 to 1-6 at the change of ends.

Michael Murphy came off the bench to replace McElhinney early in the second-half and he contributed three points to his county's cause.

Niall O'Donnell and Paul Brennan also made an impression on the scoresheet while the Donegal defence did well to hold Mickey Harte's men scoreless in the closing stages.

It represents Donegal's first success in the competition since 2010 and is a timely boost ahead of next weekend's must-win league fixture against Kildare.

Donegal - S Patton; S McMenamin, C Morrison, F McGlynn (0-1); E Doherty, P Brennan (0-2), D O'Baoill (0-2); O MacNiallais (0-1), H McFadden; C Thompson (0-1), M McElhinney (1-1), M McHugh; C McGonagle, S McBrearty, M O'Reilly (0-2, 1f). Subs: N O'Donnell (0-3) for S McBrearty, M Murphy (0-3, 2f) for M McElhinney, N Mullins for M O'Reilly, C Ward for F McGlynn, B McCole for C McGonagle, N McGee for E Doherty.

Tyrone - M O'Neill; A McCrory, C McCarron (0-1), B Burns; M Cassidy, R McNabb, K McGeary (0-1); P Hampsey, B McDonnell; D McClure (0-1), H Loughran (1-1), C McCann (0-1); D McCurry (0-1), R McHugh, R O'Neill (0-6, 5f). Subs: M Donnelly for D McClure, C McShane for M Cassidy, P Harte for K McGeary, H P McGeary for A McCrory, C Meyler for B McDonnell, N Sludden for H Loughran.

Referee - B Cassidy.

Comhghairdeas to Dún na nGall who win the @BankofIrelandUK Dr McKenna Cup for the first time since 2010! pic.twitter.com/1e1KyDbKMW

- Ulster GAA (@UlsterGAA) February 17, 2018

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