A STAR is Born, hailed RTE on Sunday night, and the evidence was pretty compelling.

A jinking run and left footed 20 yard drive into the bottom left corner; a rising first time 20 yard shot into the top right corner and then, the coup de grace, a chip from the corner of the area which curled and dipped inside the far post. As home debuts go, and as hat tricks go, there hasn't been one like Tommy McCallion's in years.

At least not since Liam Coyle did the same (indeed same club, same ground) on his home debut against Cobh in November 1988. That the 19 year old McCallion wore the number nine was entirely appropriate. Here surely, is the local hero and spiritual successor to the departed Player of the Year.

"It was a bit of genius, a touch of the Liam Coyles," said Derry manager, Felix Healy, yesterday of McCallion's audacious hat trick goal. McCallion, it has to be said, isn't exactly cut from the same stone.

Coyle, laid back to the point of comatose, lumbered about the place with a deceptive air of disinterest, treating us to sublime moments of skill in short, snappy bursts. The slightly built McCallion is a little bundle of perpetual motion, shirt dangling out and impishly running about the place with barely a pause for breath.

But the first touch is not far behind the past pass master of the Brandywell, and like Coyle, whenever the ball comes near McCallion you instinctively move to the edge of your seat. That's the effect he had on me anyway on his debut at Shelbourne three weeks ago.

Many were inclined to remember McCallion's glaring pre interval miss in that game to the exclusion of a quietly breathtaking all round performance.

Playing in his best role when given a roving commission between the midfield and lone striker Gary Beckett (as was the case yesterday) then as a right sided midfielder and finally as a deep lying playmaker at Tolka, McCallion's innate enthusiasm and free spirit were refreshing.

More than the glaring miss, the outstanding memory was a subsequent piece of skill which Healy recalls with one word: "Cantona". Taking a steepling crossfield ball on the left flank, McCallion cocked his right leg behind him to bring it down with the outside of his boot, and, next touch, disdainfully delivered a curling left footed centre. A bit showy, but the mark of a natural.

"If anybody else had done that, I would be annoyed," admits Healy for whom a tenet of his philosophy is "do what you can do, never what you can't do." But McCallion can do pretty much anything.

As the aforementioned example showed, he is utterly two footed, nippy and supremely balanced, blessed with a superb first touch, a good striker of the ball, and, adds an amused Healy "he's actually not bad in the air and he's brave enough. But he got great awareness and vision.

Multi capped by Northern Ireland at schoolboy, under age and (as captain) Youths level, Healy says "he's as complete a footballer as you'll see playing in this country. We're lucky to have him."

That they do is because Healy came upon him at Coleraine Youths, brought him into their Irish league team at 16, and brought him to Derry the first chance he got. A Derry boy, who ironically was in the same classroom at St Colm's College as Healy's son, McCallion could long since have joined his younger brother Edward (who is captain of Blackburn Rovers' youths team) across channel.

"He's had a few offers to go across but Tommy wants to stay here at this moment in time. He's at Magee University studying business and economics."

A level headed youngster then, who, surprisingly in view of his cocky on field persona, is a pretty quiet and unassuming lad off the pitch. Like so many, as Healy says, "the pitch is his outlet". The one thing that might go against him ultimately is, naturally his size, but that proved no hindrance against Shelbourne and Sligo two of the physically stronger sides around.

"How good can he become?

"Dunno. Dunno," says Healy. "All you can say about anybody at that kind of age is that at least they've got a chance." A better chance than most in McCallion's case, which will depend as much on mind as matter.

"When you get a lot of media attention, as he's bound to do now, it depends how you deal with that kind of pressure. I think he'll cope with it quite well but that's something you don't know for sure.

"Tommy will be going into a match on Wednesday night and certainly Shamrock Rovers will be a lot more aware of Tommy McCallion today than they were on Sunday, and he will get more attention. But I think he'll enjoy that because he's confident enough."

Compelled to cut their cloth to suit their measure, Derry have a much improved youth policy, as manifested by Sunday's local 16 year old debutant centre half Darren Kelly, skilful 21 year old Enniskillen striker Beckett (signed by Healy first from Omagh and then Coleraine) and another 21 year old from Enniskillen Tom Mahon (signed from Omagh).

For the moment, attention focuses on McCallion. "The one thing that Tommy McCallion's got, he's got end product," says Healy. "When Tommy McCallion gets on the ball things happen, and there's not too many players playing the game in Ireland nowadays whom you can say that about.

Well then, here is another one worth getting excited about.