Saburtalo Edge Flora 3-2 in Champions League Qualifying Thriller

Saburtalo Strike Early in Tallinn

Saburtalo took a giant step towards the Champions League second qualifying round with a dramatic 3-2 first leg victory over Flora Tallinn in Estonia. The Georgian side raced into a two-goal lead inside 21 minutes through Zviad Natchkebia’s clinical finish and Jemali Jinjolava’s penalty, only for Vladislav Kreida to halve the deficit before the half-hour mark.

The visitors’ early dominance was rewarded when Natchkebia latched onto Vakhtang Bedoshvili’s through ball to slot past Evert Grünvald on 18 minutes. Three minutes later, Jinjolava doubled the advantage from the spot after a clumsy Flora challenge. The hosts’ response came through Kreida, who rifled home from 20 yards to ignite the A. Le Coq Arena.

Flora’s Red Card Reshapes the Tie

Just as Flora built momentum, disaster struck on the hour mark when Airon Kollo received a straight red card for a reckless challenge. Down to ten men, Jürgen Henn’s side somehow found an equaliser through Sander Alamaa’s close-range finish from Sergei Zenjov’s cross on 73 minutes.

The joy was short-lived. Two minutes later, Bakar Kardava restored Saburtalo’s lead with a composed finish after substitute Giorgi Kutsia’s driving run. The Georgians survived late pressure, including a disallowed goal for handball in the first half, to take a precious lead back to Tbilisi.

What This Means for Both Sides

For Saburtalo, this represents a historic European away victory – their first in UEFA competition since 2019. Andriy Demchenko’s side showed clinical edge with all three shots on target finding the net. Flora, meanwhile, face an uphill battle in the second leg on July 15th but can take heart from their fightback with ten men. The Estonian champions created 14 chances despite Kollo’s dismissal, suggesting this tie isn’t over yet.

The winner faces either Lincoln Red Imps or Qarabağ in the next round, with Saburtalo now strong favourites to progress after this five-goal thriller in Tallinn.

Key Moments

18′ ⚽ Saburtalo — Z. Natchkebia (assist: V. Bedoshvili)

21′ ⚽ Saburtalo — J. Jinjolava

28′ ⚽ Flora Tallinn — V. Kreida

60′ 🟥 Flora Tallinn — A. Kollo sent off

73′ ⚽ Flora Tallinn — S. Alamaa (assist: S. Zenjov)

75′ ⚽ Saburtalo — B. Kardava (assist: G. Kutsia)

🔮 Before kick-off: our match preview & prediction.