The 2022 Erovnuli Liga 2 was the sixth season under its current title and the 34th season of second-tier football in Georgia. The four-round competition began on 1 March and ended on 2 December[1] with playoffs completed on 12 December.
| Season | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 March – 2 December |
| Champions | Shukura (5th title) |
| Promoted | Shukura Samtredia |
| Relegated | Rustavi Dinamo Zugdidi Shevardeni-1906 |
| Matches played | 112 |
| Goals scored | 349 (3.12 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Levan Papava (17 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Samtredia 6–0 Merani T (26 June) |
| Biggest away win | WIT Georgia 1–5 Spaeri (28 August) Merani T 0–4 Spaeri (1 October) Merani M 0–4 Shukura (22 October) Rustavi 1–5 Spaeri (1 November) |
| Highest scoring | WIT Georgia 5-3 Merani M (9 October) |
| Longest winning run | Samtredia (6 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Spaeri (9) |
| Longest winless run | WIT Georgia (12) |
| Longest losing run | WIT Georgia (5) |
← 2021 2023 →
All statistics correct as of 10 December 2022. | |
Format
editThe winner gain automatic promotion to Erovnuli Liga, while the next two teams participate in play-offs against their top-flight rivals.
After the initial 13 rounds, an extraordinary situation in late May resulted in early relegation of two clubs to the third tier. Among the remaining eight clubs the bottom two enter a play-off contest against 3rd and 4th teams of Liga 3 at the end of the season. A two-legged tie will be played at each side's home ground.[2]
Each team played 28 matches in this shortened season.
Team changes
editThe following teams have changed division since the 2021 season:[3]
To Erovnuli Liga 2editPromoted from Liga 3 Relegated from Erovnuli Liga |
From Erovnuli Liga 2editPromoted to Erovnuli Liga • Gagra Relegated to Liga 3
|
Teams and stadiums
edit
The participants of Liga 2 this season are listed below in alphabetical order.
Apart from Gareji Sagarejo and Spaeri Tbilisi, all of them have previously taken part in the main division. Among them are WIT Georgia and Samtredia, who have been the top-tier champions.[4]
| Club | Position last season | City | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Zugdidi | 7th | Zugdidi | Ganmukhuri, Centraluri | 2,000 |
| Gareji | 4th | Sagarejo | Centraluri | 2,000 |
| Merani | 3rd | Martvili | Murtaz Khurtsilava Stadium | 2,000 |
| Merani | 5th | Tbilisi | Spaeri | 2,500 |
| Rustavi | 9th | Rustavi | Technical Centre | 1,000 |
| Samtredia | 10th in Liga 1 | Samtredia | Erosi Manjgaladze Stadium | 5,000 |
| Shevardeni-1906 | 6th | Tbilisi | Kaspi, Centraluri | 500 |
| Shukura | 9th in Liga 1 | Kobuleti | Chele Arena | 6,000 |
| Spaeri | 1st in Liga 3 | Tbilisi | Spaeri | 2,500 |
| WIT Georgia | 8th | Tbilisi | Gldani Football Centre | 1,000 |
NOTE: Based on decision made by GFF Disciplinary Committee, Dinamo Zugdidi and Shevardeni-1906 were accused of match-fixing and expelled from the league with immediate effect on 22 May. For this reason all their team or individual records have been annulled from the statistics.[5]
Personnel and kits
edit| Club | Captain | Head Coach | Manager's date of appointment |
Kit manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Zugdidi | Vakhtang Jomidava | Jano Makatsaria | January 2022 |  Kelme
|
| Gareji | Nikoloz Nozadze | Giorgi Oniani | September 2022 |  Erreà
|
| Merani Martvili | Kichi Meliava | Varlam Kilasonia | July 2022 | Joma
|
| Merani Tbilisi | Iago Deisadze | Avtandil Shengelia | September 2021 |  Jako
|
| Rustavi | Paata Kiteishvili | Valeri Abramidze | November 2022 | Kelme
|
| Samtredia | Givi Ioseliani | Giorgi Shashiashvili | February 2022 | Joma
|
| Shevardeni-1906 | Nikoloz Jishkariani | Giorgi Daraselia | February 2022 | Kelme
|
| Shukura | Irakli Komakhidze | Revaz Gotsiridze | January 2022 | Kelme
|
| Spaeri | Levan Papava | Kakha Maisuradze | 2017 | Kelme
|
| WIT Georgia | Irakli Zaridze | Levan Jobava | June 2021 | Erreà
|
Managerial changes
edit| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shevardeni-1906 | Ioseb Chikadze | 9 March | Davit Datuadze |
| Davit Datuadze | 1 April | Giorgi Daraselia | |
| Gareji Sagarejo | Kakhaber Gogichaishvili | 8 April | Nestor Mumladze (Interim) |
| Nestor Mumladze | 7 May | Temur Makharadze | |
| Temur Makharadze | 12 June | Davit Dighmelashvili | |
| Davit Dighmelashvili | 30 September | Giorgi Oniani | |
| Rustavi | Armaz Jeladze | 3 May | Levan Jokhadze |
| Levan Jokhadze | 2 November | Valeri Abramidze | |
| Merani Martvili | Tsotne Moniava | 15 July | Varlam Kilasonia |
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shukura Kobuleti (C, P) | 28 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 52 | 23 | +29 | 60 | Promotion to Erovnuli Liga |
| 2 | Spaeri | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 57 | 35 | +22 | 51 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Samtredia (P) | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 48 | |
| 4 | Merani Martvili | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 42 | |
| 5 | Gareji Sagarejo | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 36 | |
| 6 | Merani Tbilisi | 28 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 34 | 56 | −22 | 34 | |
| 7 | Rustavi (R) | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 23 | Qualification for Relegation play-offs |
| 8 | WIT Georgia | 28 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 30 | 58 | −28 | 21 | |
| 9 | Dinamo Zugdidi (R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Clubs Expelled to Liga 3 |
| 10 | Shevardeni-1906 (R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored. On 21 May, the GFF announced the expulsion of Shevardeni-1906 and Dinamo Zugdidi from League 2 for match fixing and betting fraud. All matches they played have been annulled.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Results
editRegular season
editResults by round
editIn order to preserve chronological progress, postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled. Instead they are added to the full round played immediately afterwards.
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose
Statistics
editTop scorers
editAs of 2 December 2022
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Levan Papava
|
Spaeri Tbilisi | 17 |
| 2 |  Cheikne Sylla
|
Merani Martvili | 16 |
| 3 | Giorgi Kharebashvili
|
Gareji Sagarejo | 12 |
| 4 | Zurab Museliani
|
Shukura Kobuleti | |
| 5 |  Bantu Mzwakali
|
Rustavi | 9 |
| 6 | Amiran Dzagania
|
WIT Georgia | 8 |
| 7 | Dato Kirkitadze
|
Samtredia | |
| 8 | Papuna Poniava
|
Merani Martvili | |
| 9 |  Cyrille Tchamba
|
Samtredia | 7 |
| 10 | Levan Ingorokva
|
Shukura Kobuleti |
Assists
edit- As of 2 December 2022
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giorgi Janelidze
|
Shukura | 9 |
| 2 | Giorgi Kharebashvili
|
Gareji | 7 |
| 3 | Cotne Patsatsia
|
Merani Martvili | |
| 4 | Levan Tsotsonava
|
Merani Martvili | |
| 5 | Levan Papava
|
Spaeri | |
| 6 | Giorgi Koripadze
|
Samtredia |
Clean sheets
edit- As of 2 December 2022
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luka Kharatishvili
|
Shukura | 13 |
| 2 | Konstantine Sepiashvili
|
Gareji | 6 |
| 3 |  Yaroslav Burychenkov
|
Samtredia | |
| 4 | Guram Chikashua
|
WIT Georgia | 5 |
| 5 | Davit Kupatadze
|
Gareji | 4 |
| 6 | Nikoloz Abashidze
|
Spaeri | |
| 7 |  Facundo Silva
|
Samtredia |
Hat-tricks
editAs of 2 December 2022
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaba Kasrelishvili |
Merani Tbilisi | Rustavi | 3–2 (H)[7] | 1 April |
 Yuta Nakano |
Rustavi | Merani Tbilisi | 4–0 (H)[8] | 28 August |
Discipline
editRed cards
As of 2 December 2022
• Merani Tbilisi – 6
• Spaeri – 5
• Merani Martvili, Gareji – 3
Promotion playoffs
edit| Samtredia | 1–0 | Sioni |
|---|---|---|
Kilasonia  79' (pen.) |
Report |
| Sioni | 0–2 | Samtredia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tchamba 9', 74' |
Samtredia won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Gagra | 2–0 | Spaeri |
|---|---|---|
| Nozadze 8' Makatsaria 63' |
Report |
| Spaeri | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Gagra |
|---|---|---|
| Tsatskrialashvili 35' Papava 48' (pen.), 98' |
Report | Makatsaria 95' (pen.) |
| Penalties | ||
 Papava  Mathenjwa Khojanashvili Odishelidze Kirkitadze Askurava |
4–5 | Khositashvili Lomtadze Sultanishvili Lominadze Parulava Shetsiruli |
Spaeri lost on penalties.
Relegation playoffs
edit| WIT Georgia | 0–0 | Aragvi |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Aragvi | 0–1 | WIT Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nachkebia 45' |
WIT Georgia won 1–0 on aggregate and remained in the league.
| Kolkheti Khobi | 1–0 | Rustavi |
|---|---|---|
| Chedia 8' |
Report |
| Rustavi | 0–1 | Kolkheti Khobi |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Toradze 72' |
Rustavi lost 0–2 on aggregate and suffered relegation.
References
edit- ^ "ქართული საფეხბურთო სეზონის დაწყების თარიღი ცნობილია". sportall.ge (in Georgian), 12 Jan 2022.
- ^ "სფფ-ში აღმასრულებელი კომიტეტის სხდომა გაიმართა". gff.ge (in Georgian), 22 February 2022.
- ^ "Liga 2 in 2021". eliga.ge.
- ^ "Georgian Football League Champions by Year". myfootballfacts.com.
- ^ "ზუგდიდის "დინამო" და თბილისის "შევარდენი 1906" ჩემპიონატიდან მოკვეთეს". ajaratv.ge (in Georgian), 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Erovnuli Liga 2, Table". erovnuliliga.ge.
- ^ "Merani T vs Rustavi". gff.ge.
- ^ "Rustavi vs Merani T". gff.ge.