Samtredia defeated Araqvi Dusheti 4-2 at the regular season stage in Erovnuli Liga 2 on Saturday. The visitors took all three points despite playing with ten men for the final half-hour after M. Gaye's dismissal.
And here's the thing about this one — it wasn't straightforward. Gaye opened the scoring at the 2-minute mark, then Latsabidze equalised for Samtredia before half-time. By the time Javakhishvili put the visitors ahead 2-1, Dusheti had already established dominance in possession.
Samtredia led 2-1 at the break, then Gagnidze brought Dusheti level at 54 minutes. The momentum shifted after Gaye received his red card in the 63rd minute. Dvalishvili converted the resulting penalty to restore Samtredia's advantage, and the late goal sealed it.
Dusheti controlled 66 per cent of possession yet managed only 154 attacks compared to Samtredia's 86. Four corners to one tells you something about the nature of the game — it wasn't built on set-pieces. The statistics show a team that dominated territory but let opportunities slip.
Dusheti remain fourth with 32 points, while Samtredia move up to seventh on 31. The gap between them closes to a single point in the table, and that changes the arithmetic for the final stretch.