The 1986 season was the 62nd year in FC Guria's existence and the 7th consecutive season in the 2nd tier of Soviet football. In addition to the league season, the team also participated in the Soviet Cup.
On 12 November 1986, Guria beat Lokomotiv Moscow to achieve their first ever promotion to the top Soviet league. They finished the season on 61 points, their highest in the First League.
Overview Following an unimpressive performance in the previous season which resulted in the 17th place, Guria were hardly expected to become the league favourites in 1986. Initially, CSKA and Daugava seemed firmly among the top teams with the latter reaching a ten-point advantage with ten games remaining. Taking into account the existing regulations which stipulated two points for a win, Daugava appeared on the verge of winning one of the two promotion spots after a twenty-game unbeaten run. However, in the final part they stumbled, picking up only seven points and losing a crunch game at Guria who meanwhile recorded eight wins in the same period. As jubilant crowds stormed the pitch in celebration of this victory, Guria had to relocate for a decisive clash against Lokomotiv Moscow to Batumi where Besik Pridonashvili's late winner sealed a historic achievement for the team.
Guria finished on top of the table, although a 3–1 defeat to Fakel on the final day meant that an additional tie for the first spot would be played between Guria and CSKA who finished the season on equal points.
They achieved the most wins (28) and performed as the strongest home team with 21 wins out of 23. Pridonashvili, who netted 27 times, shared the league goalscorer's award with Pamir's Vazgen Manasyan.
For a provincial center with the population of roughly 9,000, the 1986 season became the most cherished triumph in Guria's history. Manager Begi Sikharulidze and two players later received the Knight of Sport award for this achievement.
Statistics First League Standings (part) + Pos Team PLD W D L GF–GA Pts 1 CSKA 46 26 9 11 63–35 61 2 Guria 4628 5 13 80–68 61 3 Daugava 4624 14 8 82–46 60 4 SKA Karpaty46 22 10 14 69–52 54 5 Pamir46 21 13 12 76–48 54
Regular season
Match for 1st place
Appearances and goals Pos. Player Age0GK Gigla Imnadze 31 35 00GK Karlo Mchedlidze29 13 00DF Badri Danelia 24 43 10DF Gia Gigatadze 22 1 0 0DF Gia Giligashvili 26 29 00DF Davit Imnadze 16 1 00DF Alexandr Kondratiev 24 36 00DF Levan Melikia 31 41 00DF Davit Sanikidze 21 5 00DF Sergei Shvetsov 26 40 10DF Merab Tevzadze 22 32 30MF Teimuraz Chkhaidze 31 44 80MF Vakhtang Kopaleishvili 32 40 160MF Enuki Tevzadze 27 40 30MF Gocha Tkebuchava 23 42 40FW Murman Akopyan 28 43 70FW Teimuraz Ebanoidze 29 40 10FW Irakli Imnadze 18 15 00MF Mamuka Kiladze 19 3 00FW Besik Pridonashvili 25 46 270FW Ivan Topuridze 27 13 30FW Davit Ugrelidze 22 11 5
Soviet Cup
References
External links 1986 Soviet First League