Hero Parkhill finding his feet in the Premiership

The pacey striker – who was signed from Tobermore United in the summer – has impressed The Showgrounds faithful with his never-say-die attitude and gutsy performances so far.

The Ballymoney man was the hero on Saturday as his 53rd minute goal was the difference between the two sides. Unsurprisingly, he was pleased to bag all three points for the Bannsiders.

“I am happy with the finish after some great work by Darren McCauley,” said Parkhill.

“I had to hit it first time and I am just glad it gave us the victory.

“As a team we defended superbly. Our performance in the first-half was very poor and Oran had a word with us at half-time and it picked the whole team up. All in all, it was a good team performance and we defended great towards the end.”

After playing junior football for the majority of his career and having no experience at the highest level, ‘Parky’ admits he is finally coming to grips with the demands of the Irish League.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s been tough,” he said candidly.

“However, every week seems to be getting easier. We have a great bunch of lads here who help and I’m getting at that stage now were Irish League football is coming to me.”

Coleraine manager Oran Kearney has praised Parkhill for his endeavour and contribution since his arrival at The Showgrounds.

“It was a great piece of skill by Darren and the timing of the pass as well as the run from Ian, with the finish coming from his weaker foot, was quality,” said Kearney.

“We know Ian can do that and slowly but surely he is finding his feet here. His biggest asset is that he’s a grafter, but he’s a quality player as well and he’s starting to show that week in, week out.”