It was a bitter pill for Anto Breslin to swallow at the time, but he would love Chris Forrester to repeat the dose in Sunday's Sports Direct FAI Cup final.
Breslin was an unused Bohemians substitute in the 2021 FAI Cup final, so had a front row seat for the St Patrick's Athletic's midfielder's wondrous extra-time goal.
Receiving the ball in the centre circle, one smart touch sees him evade Keith Buckley and, despite the game being into its 107th minute, he hares into the Bohs half of the field.
He has Promise Omochere breathing down his neck and three team-mates making themselves available on either side, but Forrester keeps hold of the ball, cuts inside Omochere and arrows an 18-yard right foot shot low and past James Talbot.
The St Pat's stalwart raced off to celebrate with his family in the corner and, while few will remember he missed a penalty in the shootout that Pat's would eventually win to secure the cup, that goal will be talked about for as long as there is football in Inchicore.
'I was just trying to catch my breath 100 odd minutes into the game and I had a couple of options for passes, but my brain wasn't fast enough or getting enough oxygen to find that pass'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 10, 2023
History couldn't repeat itself, could it?https://t.co/4C4K8pmaPJ pic.twitter.com/fpDabcdxEV
Breslin is now a team-mate of Forrester at Richmond Park, and believes the former Peterborough man is well capable of lighting up another Aviva Stadium showpiece.
"Everyone knows how good 'Git' is and if he does something like that again Sunday I'll be delighted. He does it most weeks, he has scored a lot of goals for us this year. He's been excellent, so hopefully he turns up Sunday and does the same thing."
The man himself doesn't try to downplay the goal either.
"It was a special moment for me. I had every member of my family at the corner flag. My mam doesn't come to many games, she was at that one, it was great for the family and myself," said Forrester, who reckons his lung-busting run had more to do with mental fatigue than a burst of energy.
"I was just trying to catch my breath 100 odd minutes into the game and I had a couple of options for passes, but my brain wasn't fast enough or getting enough oxygen to find that pass.
"So I carried the ball through, got a clean strike on it and, like you said, it was one of the best goals in FAI Cup history, in the final."
A record crowd is set to watch this weekend's rematch.
"It's another great occasion, massive crowd, anytime you get to play in the Aviva is an amazing experience," Forrester tells RTÉ Sport.
"As a team we've been preparing all week for whatever comes. Bohs will be fighting just as hard," adds Forrester, who rejects the theory that, having secured European football already through the league, the pressure is off St Patrick's Athletic.
"Not really. Silverware is silverware. The aim at the start of the season was push the league as far as we could, secure Europe and have a good cup run. We're in the final now Sunday and we'll be all guns blazing for that."
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Watch the FAI Cup final, Bohemians v St Patrick's Athletic, on Sunday from 2pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live radio commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
