"We kept a clean sheet and the point we got was well won." he said.
Rochdale were on fire for the first ten minutes when Kevin Townson twice went close, but after that the flames went out and neither side did much until the last ten minutes.
Then it was Cheltenham's turn and they came very close to stealing all three points in a last 15-minute romp. Damien Spencer had a great chance to clinch it, but his close range shot was comfortably collected by goalie Neil Edwards and then the Cheltenham man had another chance to redeem himself, but this shot went just wide.
Paul Brayson also went close on a couple of occasions as Cheltenham saw the chance of a win to avenge the home defeat suffered against Rochdale last October.
But the chances went by and a draw was a fair result to a game which was, "somewhat dire" in the words of manager Parkin.
Rochdale had one or two chances after their promising start, especially going close when New Zealander Leo Bertos planted a free-kick to the foot of the upright. The ball was travelling at some speed but goalkeeper Shane Higgs, who had little to do up until that point, came to the rescue with a good save.
Rochdale goalkeeper Neil Edwards also had a pretty easy afternoon, but both Brayson and Spencer troubled him on occasions in the second half.
Rochdale tried to improve their front runners by taking off Townson and putting on Paul Connor for the last 20 minutes. And Connor almost made a big difference with a solo effort towards the end, but he was crowded out. He tried again later but his shot was just over the top.
Both defences were in good form with Gareth Griffiths and Danny Livesey sealing up the middle against a Cheltenham attack which was lively at times but which could not get a serious grip on the game despite the efforts of Brayson and, from time to time, Spencer.