Samtredia beat Telavi 3-0 in the Erovnuli Liga 2 regular season round 24 on Monday. The visitors took all three points with a display that did not travel to make up the numbers. Telavi had more possession but could not convert their territory into goals.
Samtredia opened the scoring in the sixty-sixth minute through J. Cordero Gonzalez. By then they had already missed a penalty earlier in the second half, which changed the mood slightly. Telavi responded with pressure but could not find the net. T. Odikadze doubled the advantage in the seventieth minute, and L. Gogitadze added a third in the eighty-seventh.
Five yellow cards went to each side, a sign of a match that grew tight. Telavi had a penalty opportunity in the thirty-fourth minute but J. Cordero Gonzalez missed it, and here's the thing — that moment stayed with the hosts. Samtredia kept their composure after the miss and punished Telavi when they had chances.
Statistics tell only part of the story. Telavi dominated possession at 56 per cent and registered 150 attacks compared to Samtredia's 99. Yet three goals came from far fewer chances, and to be fair, Samtredia were clinical when it mattered. The visitors needed only a handful of opportunities to secure the result.
Samtredia moved up the table with this win, closing the gap on the teams above them. Telavi remain second on 40 points but now face a tougher run. The hosts had lost one of their last five and were looking for momentum, but this result ground out without drama. Samtredia's seven-game unbeaten run extends, and the line has barely moved for the visitors in terms of position.