Samguruli secured a 2:1 win at MESHAKHTE in the Erovnuli Liga's twentieth round on Saturday, extending their advantage over the hosts who had beaten them 1:0 earlier this month. G. Kantaria opened the scoring in the sixth minute before L. Shergelashvili brought the home side level at the twenty-two mark. The visitors then took control after a late red card changed the complexion of the contest.
By then the game had settled into something predictable, or so it seemed. Kantaria's early strike gave Samguruli confidence, and they seemed to have the match under control until Shergelashvili's response. And here's the thing about these games — one moment shifts everything, and the rest follows.
The turning point came when L. Ugrekhelidze was shown a yellow card in the eightieth minute and then sent off three minutes later. Meshakhte were reduced to ten men with the game essentially decided, though Samguruli still had work to do. The substitution patterns tell their own story — Meshakhte brought on L. Gegetchkori at eighty while Samguruli shuffled their pack.
I. Siradze finished the job in the eighty-ninth minute, capping a performance that built on Samguruli's 1:0 win away from home earlier this month. The visitors now sit seventh with 32 points from twenty-five games, while Meshakhte remain tenth on 15 points after twenty-four outings. To be fair, the gap between them was already substantial before this result.
The standings don't move dramatically after one match, but the psychological edge belongs to the visitors who have now taken four points from the two meetings this season. Meshakhte's struggles continue — two wins, nine draws, thirteen losses — and this defeat adds to a pattern of late-game vulnerability. Samguruli's away record remains mixed with eleven losses in twenty-five games, but they're finding a way through when it matters.