Donegal relegate Kildare to earn promotion

Donegal and Kildare were two teams heading in very different directions at the final whistle at Netwatch Cullen Park.

A six-point win for Donegal confirms an immediate return to Division 1 of the Allianz Football League for Donegal after last year's relegation and they are very much on an upward trajectory under the management of Jim McGuinness.

The opposite is true of Kildare and they will now play Division 3 football next year. Louth’s victory over Fermanagh earlier in the day meant that even though they had lost their opening five rounds in the league, matters were still in their own hands before the ball was thrown in, but they fell short again.

Peadar Mogan was at the heart of the Donegal performance and contributed five points from play in an outstanding display.

Mogan was among the early scorers for Donegal as they led 0-04 to 0-02, but Kildare were moving well at that stage and they could even have been ahead had the otherwise excellent Kevin Feely not dragged his shot wide of the post after Niall Kelly put him through on goal in the seventh minute.

Most of Kildare’s attacks were going through Feely but at the other end, Donegal had players popping from all over the field kicking points and they finished the game with nine different scorers.

Michael Langan and Ciaran Thompson ended the first half with two points apiece as Donegal led by 0-08 to 0-06 at the break.

The one thing lacking from Donegal’s opening half was a contribution from the inside line but that changed early in the second half, with Paddy McBrearty and Daire O’Baoill on the scoresheet as they scored the first three points after the break.

By the time O’Baoill scored his second of the half in the 48th minute, Donegal were five points clear and threatening