MCCABE'S A MARVEL

Tallaght's finest ready to take on Bárca in European decider

- BY GARRY DOYLE

THE dreams just keep turning into reality for Katie McCabe and she is absolutely loving it.

Captain of her country at 21, league champion of Ireland, Scotland and England by her 23rd birthday, tonight she becomes the fourth Irish woman to play in a Champions League final.

Since Tony Dunne and Shay Brennan played in the 1968 European Cup final for Manchester United, just 13 players have played on European football's biggest stage. McCabe becomes No14 in Lisbon.

She said: "As a kid, you looked at the men's Champions League finals back in the day when the women's final was not on TV. So for us as a club, to be there, it is special."

One of 11 kids, she has had her hard times, like when a leg-break stopped her getting a football scholarship to Florida State University.

She tells a funny story about when Arsenal first called. She was 19, playing for Shels. They were due to face Castlebar when her phone rang. It was Pedro Leso, the then Arsenal manager.

"It is safe to say I shat myself," was McCabe's recollection of that phone call, her Tallaght wit shining through.