After scoring hat-trick against former club during trial, ex-Portadown striker looking to help new side secure promotion

The 29-year-old moved to Shamrock Park in January from Dundela, joining former boss Niall Currie in his quest for Premiership survival and made 11 top-flight appearances before the Ports ultimately suffered relegation in their penultimate fixture.

His standout contribution was undoubtedly scoring the winning goal in a dramatic 4-3 victory over Newry City as substitute Igiehon pounced in the 94th-minute of an absolute thriller.

All of his Ports league showings came from the bench and after deciding to go in pursuit of more playing time, Igiehon landed at Ballymacash with boss Lee Forsythe determined to land his signature.

As fate would have it, that first trial match came in a friendly against Portadown where Forsythe’s instincts were proven correct as Igiehon – or ‘Trialist A’ as he was known that afternoon – netted a hat-trick.

"Football is crazy,” he said. “I didn't even realise until two days before that we were playing against Portadown.

"I was just thinking about having a good time - when you're doing that you don't really care who you're playing against and just want to score goals and enjoy it.

"Ballymacash are helping me to enjoy football again. It reminds me of my time at Dergview where you're just happy and that's the most important thing in life.

"It was interesting because big Paddy (McNally) is my friend. We played together at Larne and won the league together there so Paddy is a great guy and a really good defender.

"If you watch the game back you'll see I didn't spend too much time up against him but tried to play it smart, run in to get the ball and get in behind. I'm fitter because I've been playing more so I can actually run now."

Igiehon was offered another deal at Portadown but when the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement on terms, the former Finn Harps striker went in search of more minutes.

He looks back fondly on his time with the County Armagh outfit and still maintains a great relationship with Currie.

"I took a gamble when I went over with the gaffer and thought I could get some game time in the Premiership,” he added. “It was difficult and even when I did get game time it was very limited.

"I worked hard enough to keep my place and I was willing to stay if I was going to play, but the game time wasn't consistent so I thought I needed to look elsewhere.

"Lee didn't let me look elsewhere! It's one of those situations where you have to be grateful for every opportunity you have.

"I would have loved to have played more and been able to offer more to the team to try and help avoid relegation - that's what I really wanted to do.

"I'm grateful I got the chance to play for them in the Premiership but just wish I had more time to help us achieve our target of avoiding relegation.

"You can't not have a great relationship with the manager that gave you an opportunity at multiple clubs. He knows I'm always grateful - I'm a little bit annoyed but we still have a great relationship!

"I have a great relationship with Niall. Cliffy (Clifford Adams) and John Mac (John McAllister) were really good to me as well."

Igiehon’s full focus is now on helping Ballymacash achieve something they came within two matches of doing last season – securing promotion from the Premier Intermediate League.

They lost 4-2 on aggregate in their play-off against Knockbreda after finishing second behind champions Bangor and Igiehon is putting team achievement ahead of any personal milestones.

"You can see now when you come to the club the atmosphere there and that there's something brewing,” he said. “We have a really good team of players.

"Last year they were unlucky because they were so close to promotion. I'm grateful to have a chance to contribute to something like that.

"All you want in life is to be appreciated and loved. It's the same thing in football as in life. Everyone plays football to have a good time and if you're having a good time and feel valued then you work even harder.

"What I want is to enjoy the opportunity I've been given with a good team like Ballymacash and try my best to help them go one step further.

"It's not about me. They didn't need me last season when they got all the way to the play-offs and were only a couple of goals away from promotion - they didn't need me.

"If I can come in and help the team achieve their targets I will be happy. Everything else will sort itself out."