Donegal easily regained the Anglo Celt Cup with a comprehensive 2-18 to 0-12 routing of neighbours Fermanagh at scorching Clones.

As 2018 Ulster champions, the Tir Chonail men are now through to the inaugural Supers 8s, while Fermanagh - still awaiting their first Ulster title - have another chance to get there when they lock horns with a Round Four Qualifier winner next month.

With the sun blazing down, the winners got their work done early as first-half goals from Eoghan Bán Gallagher and Ryan McHugh propelled them into an unassailable 2-7 to 0-5 interval lead.

The first two points were shared by Sean Quigley (free) and Odhrán Mac Niallais and there were 15 minutes on the clock by the time Michael Langan gave Declan Bonner's men a lead they would not relinquish. Excellent work from Patrick McBrearty and McHugh presented raiding corner back Gallagher with a simple palmed finish to the net in the 16^th minute.

The shortcomings of mass defensive tactics are all too obvious when the team displaying the negative tactics falls behind early on! The losers didn't score from play until the 30th minute.

Donegal captain Michael Murphy raises the Anglo-Celt Cup. ©INPHO/James Crombie.

Gallagher then pointed and Michael Murphy's free made it 1-4 to 0-1 after 25 minutes. A Quigley free was cancelled out by Paul Brennan and McHugh finished the match as a contest when piercing the heart of an over-populated Erne defence to fire to the roof of the net from the right - 2-5 to 0-3 after half an hour.

Murphy's pointed free closed the first-half scoring in what was an unbelievably one-sided contest.

The second half was a procession and Donegal finished the match with twelve different scorers to collect their ninth provincial crown with twelve points to spare, Brennan notched the first score after the restart and half-time sub Seamus Quigley clipped over some lovely points for the losers, whose limitations were cruelly exposed in the blistering sunshine.

Despite losing McBrearty to injury and a stray dog roaming onto the pitch to break up play and the imposing presence of Arlene Foster to lend her support to the opposition, an outstanding Donegal side - averaging 25 points a game in this year's Ulster SFC, which they have captured via the dreaded preliminary-round route - deservedly reaped the rewards their attacking play richly deserved.

Fermanagh's Ryan Jones was sent off for a second yellow card offence at the start of the fourth quarter and the weather was absolutely fantastic.

Donegal - S Patton; P McGrath (0-1), S McMenamin, E Ban Gallagher (1-1); F McGlynn, P Brennan (0-2), R McHugh (1-0); H McFadden, L McLoone; O MacNiallais (0-1), M Langan (0-1), C Thompson (0-3, 1f); P McBrearty (0-1), M Murphy (0-4, 3f), J Brennan (0-1). Subs: D O Baoill for P McBrearty, C Ward for P Brennan, A Thompson for O MacNiallais, C Mulligan (0-1) for M Langan, M McHugh (0-1) for C Thompson, D O'Connor (0-1) for J Brennan.

Fermanagh - P Cadden; K Connor, C Cullen, M Jones; B Mulrone (0-1), J McMahon, L Cullen; E Donnelly (0-1), R Jones; P McCusker, D McCusker, A Breen; Sean Quigley (0-4f), C Jones (0-1), C Corrigan (0-1). Subs: E McHugh for K Connor (BC),  C McManus for M Jones (BC), Seamus Quigley (0-3, 1f) for P McCusker, T Clarke for C Corrigan, R Corrigan (0-1) for Sean Quigley, D Teague for D McCusker.

Referee - D Gough.

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