Christopher Stephen Forrester (born 17 December 1992) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for St Patrick's Athletic in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
[3][4] With the financial uncertainty at Bohemians during the off season, Forrester found himself in the first team squad alongside some of ex Belvedere teammates such as Craig Sexton and Keith Buckley.
[7] His performances on the wing impressed many as he became a regular in the first team including featuring in Bohs UEFA Europa League tie against Olimpija Ljubljana.
[13] Forrester's scooped goal in the Dublin derby went viral on the internet and was shown on the 'Showboat' section of the hugely popular football TV show Soccer AM, earning him great recognition around the world.
[15] He impressed many with excellent and mature performances in the Saints 2012 Europa League campaign, playing in five of their six games against ÍBV from Iceland, NK Široki Brijeg from Bosnia and Herzegovina and German Bundesliga side Hannover 96 at their 49,000 seater stadium, the Niedersachsenstadion (temporarily called AWD-Arena).
[16] Arguably Forrester's best form of the season was in the last two months, as he set up Jake Kelly and Vinny Faherty's goals vs Derry City from the bench in a 3–0 win,[17] scored away to his former club Bohemians as his side won 3–2,[18] yet again setting up Jake Kelly and Vinny Faherty in a 5–0 win over U.C.D[19] and scoring in the last two away games of the season away to Sligo Rovers[20] and Derry City.
His first goal of the season came on 5 April 2013 when he scored the winner against Bray Wanderers at The Carlisle Grounds, controlling a Kenny Browne pass with his chest, then placing a wonderful volleyed lob over Darren Quigley from a tight angle.
[29] Shelbourne would suffer further, on 17 May 2013 at Tolka Park when Forrester scored a header from a Killian Brennan corner, Pats third goal in a 3–0 win.
[32] He continued this form into the Saints title charge in the last month of the season, performing well away to Bray Wanderers and scoring and assisting away to UCD a week later in a 3–1 coming from behind.
[33] St Patrick's Athletic beat Sligo Rovers 2–0 on 13 October 2013 to win the 2013 League of Ireland, with Forrester coming in from the bench in the second half.
[34] A week later he picked up the first winners medal in professional football as the Saints lifted the league trophy following a 1–1 draw with Derry City.
Forrester finished the season with a goal in a 4–2 loss against Cork City at Turners Cross in front of Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane.
[37][38] Unfortunately for Forrester, just before he looked to be offered a contract after impressing the coaching staff, then Bristol City manager Sean O'Driscoll was sacked.
[41] On 2 March 2014, he was part of the starting 11 as his side beat Sligo Rovers 1–0 to win the 2014 President of Ireland's Cup, the inaugural year of the tournament.
[55] In 2016, he came to prominence in Britain during a televised FA Cup tie with Premier League side West Bromwich Albion, earning praise from Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.
[62] Forrester signed a three-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen in June 2018, with a reported transfer fee of £200,000 being paid.
[63] Forrester made his competitive debut for the club on 2 August 2018, coming off the bench in a UEFA Europa League game against Burnley at Turf Moor.
[67] He made his returning debut for the club on 15 February 2019 in a 1–0 win over Cork City at Richmond Park on the opening night of the season.
[68] His first goal since his return to the club came in a 3–0 win over Wexford in the Leinster Senior Cup as he collected a Cian Coleman pass before setting himself to rifle into the top corner from 25 yards.
[85] He scored the equalising goal from the penalty spot away to Finn Harps on 20 August in a 3–1 loss that damaged his sides title hopes.
[87] Forrester scored for the third game in a row a week later, putting his side 2–1 up in an eventual 3–2 win over Longford Town at Richmond Park by volleying into the roof of the net from 6 yards out, his 50th league goal for the club.
[97] Forrester scored his first goal of the season on 4 March 2022, heading in a Darragh Burns corner in the 54th minute of a 1–0 win over rivals Shamrock Rovers at a sold out Richmond Park.
[112] On 5 June 2023, Forrester scored a header from a Thijs Timmermans corner to put his side 3–1 up in an eventual 4–1 win over Derry City at Richmond Park.
[113] 4 days later he scored a penalty to equalise away to Drogheda United just before half time to send himself top of the league's goalscoring charts.
[117] On 15 September 2023, Forrester scored a 48th minute equaliser in a 2–1 win away to Finn Harps in the FAI Cup, to help earn his side a place in the Semi Final.
[128] On 25 July 2024, he assisted his side's final goal in a 3–1 win over Vaduz of Liechtenstein in the UEFA Conference League, when his crossed free kick was met by a Joe Redmond header into the bottom corner.
[131] On 8 March 2013, he was watched by Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni in Pats' league opener, a 1–0 win against Drogheda United.