Rathmore (Kerry) 1-11 Galbally Pearses (Tyrone) 0-11
Six months after helping Kerry to All-Ireland senior football success, Shane Ryan returned to Croke Park in club colours and secured another precious piece of silverware at the intermediate grade with Rathmore.
All-Star goalkeeper Ryan plays outfield for his club and proved a terrific asset in attack again, registering 1-03 and hitting the 23rd minute goal that ultimately separated the teams after a typically full blooded encounter between the Kerry and Tyrone champions.
Fittingly, with Galbally battling back and chasing possession from the very last kick-out to potentially conjure an equalising goal, Ryan rose highest and fetched superbly with the full-time whistle blowing shortly after.
Rathmore were seven points clear with just seven minutes of normal time remaining but were pushed all the way by Paddy Crozier's side.
It was a doubly impressive comeback from the Ulster champions as they were reduced to 14 players in the 51st minute when midfielder Enda McGarrity was black carded.
They will ultimately rue missed goal chances which fell to McGarrity in the first-half and then Daniel Kerr with five minutes to go.
Rathmore are the seventh Kerry team to win the intermediate club championship and the success caps a double win for Kingdom teams on the day in front of 8,123.
After the chaos of the ending to the earlier junior final, this was a little more sedate and panned out upon more predicted lines, Rathmore edging the opening half to take a 1-05 to 0-04 interval lead.
With veteran Aidan O'Mahony togged out and sitting among the subs, the Kingdom representatives looked to a current Kerry player, Ryan, for inspiration in attack.
Stationed in a two-man full-forward line next to John Moynihan, the powerful forward was tracked by full-back Conor Quinn but still helped himself to 1-01 in the first-half.
Those two scores came one after the other, a 20th minute point which levelled the game up at 0-03 apiece before a 23rd minute goal when he pounced on a Galbally error to put clear daylight between the teams.
Chrissy Spiers, originally from Magherafelt in Derry but living now and working in Kerry, clipped two points for the favourites also, both from frees.
Rathmore will feel they got their tactics spot on, dropping number 12 Brian Friel back to operate as a seventh defender. That cleared Christopher Morris as the spare man in the Galbally defence but Rathmore will feel they got most from the trade off, restricting the Ulster champions to just one point from open play - the very first score of the game from Kerr - until the 53rd minute.
Galbally did have a great chance for a 15th minute goal and Rathmore were grateful to goalkeeper Kenneth O'Keeffe for getting a hand to McGarrity's shot and averting the danger for a 45'.
Top scorer Conor Donaghy converted the kick for his second point but they could have done with the major.
Their worries deepened when Rathmore restarted the second-half with back to back points from James Darmody and Ryan, Spiers first winning a free and then playing it short to Ryan for the county man to increase his tally to 1-02.
The game was held up for a lengthy spell in the third quarter when a big hit to the face of Rathmore defender James O'Sullivan left him bloodied and ultimately unable to continue though he eventually returned in the closing minutes.
Spiers was left wincing in agony too shortly after when he suffered an apparent dislocated finger though he played on after receiving treatment from a medic and then kicked his third point from a free.
Rathmore were seven points clear after 53 minutes and apparently cruising but Galbally refused to throw in the towel and, from there, outscored their opponents by 0-06 to 0-02 to leave just a goal in it.
Rathmore: Kenneth O'Keeffe; James O'Sullivan, Andrew Moynihan, Dan Murphy; Brian Friel; Fionn Holohan, Paul Murphy, Alan Dineen; Mark Ryan (0-01), Cathal Ryan; Brendan O'Keeffe (0-01), Chrissy Spiers (0-03, 0-03f), James Darmody (0-02); John Moynihan, Shane Ryan (1-03).
Subs: Cillian O'Connor for James O'Sullivan 35, Mark Reen (0-01) for Moynihan 55, O'Sullivan for Dineen 56, Anthony Darmody for James Darmody 61, Darragh Rahilly for Spiers 66.
Galbally Pearses: Ronan McGeary; Conor Quinn, Conor Donnelly; Christopher Morris; John Hetherington, Liam Rafferty, Marc Lennon; Enda McGarrity, Cormaic Donnelly; Conor Donaghy (0-07, 0-06f, 0-01 45), Ronan Nugent (0-01), Sean Wylie; Daniel Kerr (0-03, 0-01f), Sean Murphy, Barry Carberry.
Subs: Aidan Carberry for Barry Carberry h/t, Fearghal McGarrity for Donnelly 50, Seamus Og Mulgrew for Wylie 55.
Referee: Barry Tiernan (Dublin).
