Former Irish League striker and one of Larne's first signings under Kenny Bruce fires in cup final hat-trick for local club

Following a spell in the Premiership with Ballymena United, McCabe made his way to Inver Park and was there prior to – and at the beginning of – the revolution that has helped turn them into reigning top-flight champions.

The 30-year-old has now also found success away from the pitch after opening up his own gym, The Engine Room Strength and Conditioning, in Antrim alongside turning out for his local club, FC Antrim.

McCabe was their Ace Cup final hero on Saturday, bagging a hat-trick in their 5-2 triumph over All Saints OB to bring his personal tally for the season to 27, and he’s once again loving every minute on the pitch.

"It's probably been the first year I've enjoyed football since I was at Larne just with the nature of the way work was,” said McCabe, who also spent time with Ballyclare Comrades. “I was working in the Galgorm at the time and it had taken over in terms of career.

"I wasn't able to get the time off to train, was arriving late, not able to play certain Saturday's or have to be back at a certain time - everything was always scheduled.

"Now I'm my own boss. I had my own garage converted into a gym and was doing one-to-one personal training but it got too busy.

"I always wanted to open my own gym (The Engine Room opened in January) and it has been a dream. It's all going really well so I'll keep working the way I'm working and hope it keeps growing.

"With football, there's nothing better than winning trophies with family and friends. My brother plays for the team and my mum goes to every game. It's class.”

McCabe’s Saturday treble came within 19 minutes as FC Antrim took a 5-1 half-time lead, continuing their knack for scoring heavily – they defeated Sixmile Athletic 16-0 in March (McCabe scored four) and last month beat Newpark Olympic 8-0 on two separate occasions.

The former Irish League attacker has registered three hat-tricks while balancing time on the pitch with growing responsibilities off it.

"Every time I hit the ball it just went in the net,” he reflects on his final hat-trick. "It has been a really good season.

"The second-half of the season has been a little more difficult because we have been victims of our own success. We have went quite far in the Junior Cup, Junior Shield and they take precedence over the league so we're backlogged with league fixtures and I haven't been able to get to as many of them as I would have wanted to.

“I've played 20 or 30 minutes here and there in midweek matches but that's due to me being in work until 7:30pm then I'm rushing to the game and trying to get on when I get there.

"The start of the year I had 10 goals in four games at one stage and had back-to-back hat-tricks. I was really enjoying my football again."

McCabe joined Larne in the summer of 2015 and helped them finish sixth in the Championship table in his first season, they fell to ninth the campaign after – only six points ahead of 11th-placed Armagh City – and then came the moment that changed everything.

Bruce took over in 2017, Larne won the Championship title by 17 points from Carrick Rangers in 2018/19 and now four years later they are celebrating a first Premiership crown in their 134-year history.

McCabe was re-signed by Bruce alongside Darren Stuart and Kevin Bradley for the 2017/18 season after originally not being able to commit to a more full-time set-up and it’s been quite the journey for the club since.

"We had all left and were then re-signed when Kenny came in because of what was required,” he said. “They were going to go a bit more full-time and we couldn't commit.

"We then got a phone call saying they were going back to Tuesday and Thursday training and offered to keep us on part-time. We were the first boys to sign under Kenny and since then it has been some growth!

"He's (Bruce) very down to earth, civil and polite. Tiernan (Lynch) is an excellent coach - they've got a serious winning formula there: good players, good coach, financial backing, a great town to play football in, a great set-up and unbelievable fan support.

"The fan support was always amazing any time we played massive games, like against Ballymena United in a County Antrim Shield - the turnout was always incredible and so was the atmosphere.

"They have a few more things to shout about now than playing the odd game against Ballymena United in the County Antrim Shield! Now they are winning leagues and it's unreal to see the growth."