Match report
Saburtalo edge past Larne after extra time in Europa League qualifier
Saburtalo won 2-1 after extra time against Larne in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium. The 90 minutes finished level at 1-1, forcing the tie into an additional period before the home side found a winner.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
The first half produced no goals, but the deadlock broke in the 74th minute when Vakho Bedoshvili put Saburtalo ahead, assisted by N. Sikharulashvili. Larne responded almost immediately through James Simpson two minutes later, levelling the score at 1-1 and sending the match toward extra time.
With the tie still finely poised, N. Sikharulashvili turned scorer in the 102nd minute, converting an assist from Nikoloz Dadiani to restore Saburtalo's lead at 2-1, a scoreline that held until the final whistle.
Saburtalo dominated possession throughout, holding the ball for 68 percent of the match and testing the goalkeeper with five shots on target compared to Larne's one, underlining their control despite conceding late in normal time.
N. Sikharulashvili had a hand in both of Saburtalo's goals, setting up the opener before scoring the decisive extra-time winner himself.
Saburtalo's dominance was reflected in their 11 corners to Larne's solitary one.
Saburtalo beat Larne 2–1 (half-time 0–0).
Saburtalo met Larne in the UEFA Europa League (3rd Qualifying Round). Kick-off was Tuesday, 11 August 2026, 16:00 UTC at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium. Referee: Rohit Saggi.
Team pages: Saburtalo · Larne · UEFA Europa League
Key moments
- 74' Goal: Vakho Bedoshvili (assist: N. Sikharulashvili) — 1–0 · Watch Vakho Bedoshvili's goal video (74')
- 76' Goal: James Simpson — 1–1 · Watch James Simpson's goal video (76')
- 102' Goal: N. Sikharulashvili (assist: Nikoloz Dadiani) — 2–1 · Watch N. Sikharulashvili's goal video (102')
Starting line-ups
Saburtalo (4-3-3)
- 31 Giorgi Makaridze
- 5 Jemali-Giorgi Jinjolava
- 25 Aleksandre Amisulashvili
- 40 Giorgi Kobuladze
- 4 Vahid Selimović
- 8 Bakar Kardava
- 27 Giorgi Kutsia
- 6 Nikoloz Dadiani
- 24 Vakho Bedoshvili
- 10 Z. Natchkebia
- 10 Zviad Natchkebia
- 19 N. Sikharulashvili
Larne (4-3-3)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Saburtalo 59%, the draw 23%, Larne 18%. It finished Saburtalo 1–1 Larne.
Saburtalo's rating edge carries it — Saburtalo are the stronger side on our strength rating, and UEFA Europa League home advantage on top gives Saburtalo a clear lead. The draw at 23% is trimmed by a league that produces few draws.
Why Saburtalo at 59%?
Saburtalo sit 166 points higher on our strength rating — 1269 to 1103. Sides with a 100–200-point rating edge at home won 57.2% of 12,672 such games. UEFA Europa League home sides out-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to draws (22.8% vs 24.9% norm). UEFA Europa League homes won 47.5% of 4,401 games vs 44.9% across all 98,938 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly. The 300 most similar past games finished 53–23–24.
Why only 59%?
No scored evidence points the other way. 59% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 23% and Larne at 18%.
Why is the draw only 23%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 24.2%. These teams' recent games average 2.5 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 26.2% of 27,535. UEFA Europa League produces fewer draws than most, taking 2.1 points off. The goals environment adds 1.1 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Saburtalo have 24 fully-tracked matches with us — under our usual 25-game bar — but their strength rating is anchored to the long-run European club ratings list, which carries their wider competitive history into the number. Clubs from leagues we don't fully cover play too few tracked games for a record built from scratch, so their rating chain starts from published long-run club ratings instead of a blind first guess.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Saburtalo vs Larne final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this UEFA Europa League fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Vakho Bedoshvili's goal against Larne (74').
- Watch James Simpson's goal against Saburtalo (76').
- Watch N. Sikharulashvili's goal against Larne (102').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Saburtalo 2–1 Larne. Explore more on the Saburtalo and Larne team pages or the UEFA Europa League page.