Larne coach predicts bright future for 'fantastic' former Crystal Palace and Linfield midfielder after scoring on debut
Larne coach Jeff Hughes believes “fantastic young player” Cormac Austin has a bright future ahead of him after the former Crystal Palace midfielder marked his debut by scoring in a 3-0 Co Antrim Shield win over Ballymacash Rangers.
The 19-year-old, who was previously on the books of Cliftonville and Linfield, where he made a senior debut aged 16, earned a move to Premier League outfit Palace in 2022.
A Northern Ireland youth international, Austin registered 33 Premier League U18 appearances for the Eagles and also racked up a further eight outings in Premier League Two for their U21s.
Austin was rewarded with a professional contract at Selhurst Park, but it was confirmed in June that the talented teenager had departed the club.
Earlier this mouth, Austin agreed a contract with Larne until the end of this season and was given his first opportunity to impress against third-tier Ballymacash at the Bluebell Stadium.
He struck his maiden Inver Reds goal after 78 minutes to help seal progression for Gary Haveron’s side in a ‘Man of the Match’ performance while 15-year-old Sonny Trainor was also handed his debut.
"A lot of them are senior players,” Hughes told the club’s media channel. “We had two debuts in Cormac, who is 19 and not an experienced player, but he is a player of real quality so you know what you're getting from him.
"We had Sonny and Mikey (Harkin) coming on, it was Sonny's debut and Mikey has played a few times for us before so it was nice to have a blend. I think we had a strong enough team.
"Cormac is a fantastic young player. He can play six, eight or 10, he's got great feet, great passing ability. I'm personally very excited about the future for Cormac."
Gary Hamilton’s side were reduced to 10 men after only 11 minutes when Killian McCandless was shown a straight red card.
Tomas Cosgrove opened the scoring for Larne on the half-hour mark before late strikes from Austin and Conor McKendry helped set up a semi-final clash against Carrick Rangers next month.
Leroy Millar continued his return to full fitness by playing the first 45 minutes before being replaced by Chris Gallagher at half-time.
"As all the fans know, he came on against Annagh last season and it set him back, so we're keen for that not to happen again,” added Hughes. “He trains a heavy day and has the next day light, we're doing the same with matches.
"We're going to bring him up to 45 minutes a few times, then 60 and then he'll be fully back in."