The Zugdidi Chronicle
Match20 Mar 2027
Chastening afternoon for Zugdidi
A 0‑3 beating by Saburtalo was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Khvicha Kobiashvili keeps Zugdidi in it on his own
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Zugdidi
Levan Mikautadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Khvicha Kobiashvili gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Nobody left the Zugdidi dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Saba Mikautadze stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Saba Mikautadze and Zugdidi agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
An afternoon Mikheil Qazaishvili will want back
Marked 4.31. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Archil Kobiashvili runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market22 Mar 2027
Irakli Janelidze linked with a move away
The name of Irakli Janelidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zugdidi say nothing, which says plenty.
In brief
- Player ratings The pass was always on for Levan Mikautadze
- Player ratings Sandro Arveladze spends the afternoon fouling