FC Locomotive Tbilisi-2
| Founded | 1936 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground | Olympic Complex, Tbilisi, Georgia | |||
| Chairman | Alex Topuria | |||
| Coach | Giorgi Minashvili | |||
| League | Liga 3 | |||
| 2024 | 9th of 16 | |||
| Website | fcloco.ge | |||
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FC Locomotive-2 (Georgian: სკ ლოკომოტივი-2) is a Georgian football team based in Tbilisi. Founded in 1936, it is the reserve team of Locomotive and plays in the 3rd division of Georgian football.
Locomotive-2 are the winners of three different divisions and have reached the final of the Georgian Cup.
History
[edit]Locomotive-2 first featured in the 2nd division of Georgia football in 1999. With the first team high-flying in the Umaglesi Liga, the reserves were ineligible for promotion. Yet, the latter won their eastern group in the 1999–2000 season and later spent another four seasons in the league.
As the two-time national league runners-up and three-time cup holders, Locomotive experienced a significant revival in the mid-2010s. While the first team managed to return to the top-tier after a four-year absence,[1] the second team won the last championship held among the reserve teams.[2] Meanwhile, the club created its football academy in 2015 and formed 12 age groups starting from six.[3]
Locomotive-2 took part in the 2016 Meore Liga and stayed unbeaten up until the last round. Based on regulations adopted for this transitional season to spring-autumn system, the team needed at least a draw against Algeti to stay up although suffered a heavy defeat.[4]
In 2017, Locomotive-2 entered the Regionuli Liga tournament for the first time. Under coach Vladimer Vashadze, they were contenders in the title race and as runners-up of Group C qualified for playoffs where they lost to Aragvi on penalties.[5]
The team skipped next three seasons before re-joining the league in 2021. With a single loss in 23 matches, Locomotive-2 eased past their rivals to automatically advance to Liga 4 where they did not stay longer than one year. After a fine start to the season which included a nine-game unbeaten run and seven consecutive wins, Loco-2 achieved a one-point advantage over Shturmi to become champions for the second time in a row.
But it was their incredible cup campaign that attracted a huge attention in 2022. Initially, Locomotive-2 inflicted a shock defeat on Samgurali, the runners-up of the previous cup season.[6] Then, Telavi's cup journey came to an abrupt end as they lost on penalties. The reigning champions Saburtalo, heavy favourites to come out on top, similarly failed to beat the 4th division side and with no goals in extra time, the semi-final went to a penalty shoot-out, which produced an all-time biggest Georgian cup upset. Although Loco-2 went on to lose to Torpedo Kutaisi, they made history by knocking out three top-flight teams and reaching the final, especially given that the first team was eliminated by a 2nd division side in the round of 16 and, besides, suffered relegation from the Erovnuli Liga.[7]
Locomotive-2 have been in Liga 3 since 2023, floating around mid-table. At any rate, they cannot earn promotion to the 2nd division unless the first team qualifies for the top tier.
Seasons
[edit]| Year | League | Pos | M | W | D | L | GF–GA | Pts | Domestic Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Regionuli Liga, A | ↑1st of 24 | 23 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 78–16 | 60 | 3rd round |
| 2022 | Liga 4 | ↑1st of 16 | 30 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 82–40 | 68 | Runners-up |
| 2023 | Liga 3 | 10th of 16 | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 50–42 | 35 | 1st round |
| 2024 | Liga 3 | 9th of 16 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 47–58 | 40 | Round of 16 |
Squad
[edit]As of 25 May 2025 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers
[edit]| Name | Nat. | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aleksandre Intskirveli | 
|
2021 | 2021 |
| Lasha Tchagiashvili |
|
2022 | 2022 |
| Giorgi Minashvili |
|
2023 | 2023 |
| Lasha Tchagiashvili (2) |
|
2023 | 2023 |
| Davit Khatiri |
|
2024 | 2024 |
| Giorgi Minashvili (2) |
|
2025 |
Honours
[edit]- League
Pirveli Liga (level 2)
- Winners: 1999–2000, East B
Liga 4 (level 4)
- Winners: 2022
Regionuli Liga (level 5)
- Winners: 2021, Group A
- Cup
- Runners-up: 2022
See also
[edit]- Locomotive - First team
References
[edit]- ^ "მეტალურგი-ლოკომოტივი 0:5" [Metalurgi 0–5 Locomotive]. sportall.ge (in Georgian). 28 May 2015.
- ^ "Locomotive-2". footballfakts.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "Age groups". FC Locomotive. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "Algeti vs Locomotive-2 match report". soccerway.com. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "ლოკომოტივი 2-მა ლიგა 3-ში მოხვედრის შანსი დაკარგა" [Locomotive-2 loses chance to gain promotion to Liga 3]. fcloco.ge (in Georgian). 21 November 2017.
- ^ "Locomotive-2 vs Samgurali match report". gff.ge (in Georgian). 7 August 2022.
- ^ "გზა, რომელიც სენსაციის ავტორმა, "ლოკომოტივი 2-მა" საქართველოს თასის ფინალამდე გაიარა" [Locomotive's route to Georgian Cup final]. 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 7 December 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2025.