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GAA | Kerry defeat Donegal to win Division 1 title

Kerry have beaten Donegal by 2-18 to 0-10 at Austin Stack Park to win the 2020 Allianz Football League Division 1 title.

The Kingdom claimed their first league since 2017 with a comfortable win over the Ulster county, with Seán O'Shea and Gavin White both finding the back of the net in the first half for the hosts in Tralee.

Declan Bonner fielded a weakened Donegal team - leaving Michael Murphy, Ryan McHugh, Neil McGee and Eoghan Bán Gallagher out of the squad - ahead of their Ulster Championship clash with Tyrone next weekend in Ballybofey.

That said, Kerry were without Paul Geaney, James O’Donoghue, Jack Sherwood and Adrian Spillane.

A blistering first half saw Kerry lead by 2-9 to 0-8 at the interval, and Peter Keane's men added another nine points to their tally in the second half.

Donegal shaded the opening quarter of an hour, leading by 0-3 to 0-2 when Kerry's Jason Foley was shown a black card before the water break.

Foley's absence coincided with a purple patch for the Kingdom, with O'Shea finding the net with a low shot from close range after being picked out by Tom O’Sullivan, who soon added a point of his own.

White then marauded forward to bag Kerry's second goal, showing good strength to carry the ball through tackles and smash an unstoppable strike past Shaun Patton.

A trio of points from inside forward Tony Brosnan extended Kerry's lead further before the half time whistle.

David Clifford, who was quiet in the first half, produced four points from play in the second as Kerry continued to dominate.

Ciaran Thompson chipped in with five points for Donegal, including three from play, but Bonner's men never looked like mounting any sort of a comeback in Tralee.

https://twitter.com/Kerry_Official/status/1320086501447864321

Kerry's latest league title is their 21st overall, and the Kingdom will now focus on their upcoming Munster semi-final against bitter rivals Cork in two weeks time.

Elsewhere, Roscommon have been crowned as Division 2 champions after an impressive 1-12 to 0-13 win over Cavan, securing an immediate return to Division 1 in the process.

The Rossies will be joined in the top flight by Armagh, who defeated Clare 1-18 to 0-13.

Cavan and Fermanagh have been relegated to the third tier.

 

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