Donegal ... 1-10 Tyrone ... 0-11: In a game of championship fervour, Donegal put an end to Tyrone's unbeaten record at MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey.
While the players served up some good football for the 8,000 crowd, the centre of attraction was Mayo referee Michael Daly who whistled for some 66 fouls, 40 of them in the first half.
However, what mystified most followers from both camps was how both teams finished with the full complement of players, such was the stoppages for brief skirmishes and off-the-ball incidents.
Indeed, the game turned to farce at one stage with Donegal's John Gildea volunteering himself for a yellow card after the referee spent a couple of minutes running around looking for a number.
Perhaps the most bizarre part of the referee's performance was his decision to allow players shake hands on two occasions (Brian Roper and Ryan McMenamin and Barry Monaghan and Stephen O'Neill) without issuing any cards after the players had been involved in fisticuffs.
Apart from the attention on the referee, the players served up a very exciting contest with debutant Christy Toye's goal giving the home side a merited advantage at the break - 1-5 to 0-5.
The Donegal side held on in the second half and showed tremendous spirit in the final 10 minutes with substitute Colm McFadden hitting two delightful points, while Tyrone's best player Ryan McMenamin also found the target with a wonderful point on the run.
Table toppers Tyrone were without three of their selected forwards - Peter Canavan, Gerard Cavlan and Brian McGuckin - and they had a below-par performance from All-Star Stephen O'Neill, but that will matter little to Donegal.
Donegal captain Mark Crossan led by example and they also had excellent performances from Damien Diver, Barry Monaghan and inside duo of Brendan Devenney and Adrian Sweeney. Their wides tally of six was a marked improvement on their 16 against Galway.
DONEGAL: T Blake; D Diver, M Crossan, N McGinley; R Sweeney, B Monaghan, K Cassidy; J Gildea, K Rafferty; J McGuinness, M. Hegarty, C Toye (1-0); B Roper, B Devenney (0-3, two frees), A Sweeney (0-5, three frees). Subs: C McFadden (0-2) for Roper; J Haran for Hegarty; P McGonagle for McGuinness.
TYRONE: B Ward; C Gormley; C Lawn, B Robinson; R McMenamin (0-2), C. Holmes, D McCrossan; C McAnallen, J Quinn (0-1); B Dooher (0-1, free), S O'Neill (0-4, four frees), B McGuigan; E McGinley, K Hughes, R Thornton. Subs: C Gourley for Lawn; O Mulligan (0-2, two frees) for Thornton; P McLoughlin (0-1) for Quinn.
Referee: M Daly (Mayo)
