Donegal, who are also struggling near the foot of the table, boosted their chances of avoiding the drop by registering their second win of the campaign.

In wet conditions, both teams took their time to settle and Donegal were not helped by two early injury stoppages.

Ryan Bradley missed a goal chance for the visitors when Westmeath goalkeeper Gary Connaughton got the better of him in a one-on-one, blocking the shot away to safety.

With Dessie Dolan continuing his recovery from a hamstring injury and a number of other frontline players on the sideline, Westmeath’s hopes really rested on the shoulders of their league top scorer Denis Glennon.

He hit 1-6 in their recent defeat to Tyrone and needed a similar tally to give the midlanders any hope of wrestling a victory away from Donegal.

Tomas O Flatharta’s men were still very much in the hunt at half-time, trailing by 0-7 to 1-3 - despite Donegal being far superior throughout the opening 35 minutes.

Glennon (free) and Christy Toye swapped early points before Michael Ennis edged the hosts in front on 25 minutes.

Donegal then surged clear, getting players behind the ball and showing great pace in attack, as Brendan Boyle (0-2), Bradley and Conal Dunne tagged on successive points.

Against the run of play, Westmeath managed to get back on terms.

Glennon popped over a free and when a subsequent effort of his dropped short towards the Donegal square, midfielder Niall Kilcoyne was on hand to collect it and find the net on the turn with a smartly-taken finish.

An injury-time point from David Walsh restored Donegal’s advantage and Michael Doherty opened the second half with Donegal’s eighth score.

The sides were level for the second time, though, when Dermot Bannon and the never-say-die Doran Harte raided forward for a brace of Westmeath points.

The scores soon dried up and Westmeath’s over-reliance on Glennon was clear to see when they went 15 minutes without scoring. During that spell, Glennon had another goal-scoring opportunity smothered away.

Glennon ended that scoreless run with his third point of the afternoon, 11 minutes from the finish, and by that time, Donegal had foraged clear.

Christy Toye and team captain Rory Kavanagh helped themselves to points and Bradley took his own tally to 0-3.

The Tir Chonaill men did lose Kavanagh to a yellow card, but points from his replacement Brian Roper and Stephen Griffin sealed the issue and ensured Division 2 football for Westmeath next year.