Rustavi and Dinamo Batumi met in the Erovnuli Liga's regular season round 24 on Thursday evening, with the visitors claiming a 1-0 victory thanks to a second-half goal. The match took place at the Rustavi stadium on 2026-09-04, drawing a crowd that watched closely as the league leaders edged past their third-placed opponents.
And here's the thing about this match — it came down to that one moment in the 48th minute when Tornike Kirkitadze found the net. Dinamo Batumi had been pressing, and by then the pressure told. The goal separated two evenly-matched sides, with Rustavi's home advantage ultimately proving insufficient.
To be fair, the match was never without its tensions. Three yellow cards fell before half-time — Kevin Ceijas in the 13th minute, Mamuka Kapanadze in the 21st, and Mamuka Kobakhidze in the 23rd. The visitors added their own share of cautions, with Yuta Nakano and Luka Tsulukidze both booked in the second half, alongside Dirk Carlson and Yahya Kalley.
The substitutions told a different story. Rustavi made three changes around the hour mark — Kapanadze, Ceijas and Lakvekheliani all replaced — while Dinamo Batumi brought on Dmitri Mandricenco in the 67th minute. Later, Luka Tsulukidze was replaced in the 73rd, and Dinamo added Avtandil Gujabidze, Yuta Nakano and Jean in the closing stages.
The statistics showed a contest where both sides created chances but neither could find rhythm. Rustavi held 48 per cent possession and registered 5 shots with 3 on target, while Dinamo Batumi controlled 52 per cent and fired 10 shots with just 2 on target. The visitors won more corners — 6 to 3 — but Rustavi earned more free kicks, 13 to 16 in favour of the away side.
By then, the league table told its own tale. Rustavi sit top with 23 games played, 12 wins, 6 draws and 5 defeats, accumulating 42 points. Dinamo Batumi occupy third place with 37 points from the same number of matches, sitting 5 points behind the leaders after this result.
