Before kick-off on Friday, Ruaidhri Higgins had said it was too early to be talking about statement victories.

But, after a thrilling 3-2 comeback win at title rivals and reigning champions Larne, the Coleraine manager could not help but join in the celebrations in front of the travelling support.

Joel Cooper fired home the winner in a game of the season contender at Inver Park as the Bannsiders overturned a two-goal deficit to inflict a first league defeat of the season on the hosts.

The three points move Coleraine six points clear of Linfield, who have two games in hand, and 11 points clear of Larne, who have four extra matches thanks to their European exploits in the summer.

While Higgins stopped short of saying it was a statement victory, even in the midst of the jubilation, he could not hide his joy at the character that his side showed.

“The manner [of the victory] is the most pleasing thing,” Higgins told BBC Sport NI’s Jana McCabe.

“It makes me feel really proud of the group. When the second goal went in and we’re away to the champions, did we let our heads drop? We didn’t.

“We actually grew from strength to strength and clawed our way back into the game.

“I felt we smelt blood when the first goal went in and we went after it. We were outstanding in that second period.”

Larne have won three titles in four years as they stepped up to challenge the traditional big hitters in the Irish League, while Coleraine are now contenders with their own rise after a change of ownership and a move to a full-time model.

Earlier in the season, the sides had played out a goalless draw that fell flat and did not live up to the billing of two title favourites.

But Friday night did not disappoint. It was the Irish League at its best.

James Simpson’s superb double had put the holders in front, and it looked like Larne were well on their way to a big three points of their own.

But much had been made about Coleraine’s star-studded attack and they delivered in style.

First, Cooper hammered home with half an hour to play after Larne failed to deal with Ben Doherty’s cross.

Doherty was involved again as Matthew Shevlin powered home a header nine minutes later, and the drama wasn’t done there.

Moments after substitute Kevin O’Hara had hit the crossbar with a speculative effort, Cooper popped up to fire home the winner with nine minutes of normal time left.

While Higgins stopped short of retreating on his pre-match comments about it being more than three points, match winner Cooper believed it was a “real big statement”.

“We have a never-say-die attitude in the changing room, and we believe we have quality and a team that score goals,” he said.

“Not many teams come here and get three points, so it’s always nice. We’ll go home and enjoy the night and recover and go again next week.”

Coleraine will now look to back their Friday night thriller up on 24 October when they face a much-improved Crusaders at Seaview.

“Coming from behind at the home of the champions and winning is an even better feeling,” Higgins said.

“It’ll give the players real belief going forward and hopefully we can continue this really, really good run of form that we’re on.”

For his part, Gary Haveron was left disappointed as his side let a two-goal lead slip on home turf and described the defending from his players as “pathetic”.

Before Friday’s game, Larne had only conceded three goals in their opening seven league matches.

But Coleraine’s fightback – led by Cooper, Shevlin and Doherty – meant that tally doubled in a devastating 21-minute burst.

Despite that, Haveron dismissed any notion of it being a statement win for the Bannsiders.

“We’ve still got to play them down there,” Haveron said.

“We drew the first one, they’ve won this one. There’s still a lot of games for us to play against them, and there’s lots of football between now and the end of the season.”

Larne will have to lick their wounds, and quickly, when they welcome fellow title challengers Linfield to Inver Park on Tuesday.

Friday’s defeat marks a disappointing week for Larne after they lost on penalties to Championship side Dundela in a penalty shooutout in the County Antrim Shield, after conceding a controversial injury-time penalty at Wilgar Park.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to bounce back from what is a disappointing week,” Haveron said about the trip to Linfield.

“I’m not bothered about Tuesday night [against Dundela], truth be told, I don’t have anything else to say about that.

“But today was bitterly disappointing because we had that game won and we should have killed it off.”