2018 Moldovan National Division
# 2018 Moldovan National Division

The 2018 Moldovan National Division (Romanian: Divizia Națională) was the 28th season of top-tier football in Moldova. The season started on 1 April 2018 and ended on 24 November 2018. Fixtures were announced on 19 March 2018. Sheriff Tiraspol were the defending champions. The winners of the league this season earned a spot in the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, and the second, third and fourth placed clubs earned a place in the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.

## Teams

### Number of teams by region

| Region | Number of teams | Club(s) |
| - | - | - |
| Transnistria | 2 | Dinamo-Auto and Sheriff |
| Bălți | 1 | Zaria |
| Chișinău | 1 | Zimbru |
| Hîncești | 1 | Petrocub-Hîncești |
| Ialoveni | 1 | Sfîntul Gheorghe |
| Nisporeni | 1 | Speranța |
| Orhei | 1 | Milsami |

### Stadia and locations

| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| Dinamo-Auto | Tiraspol | Dinamo-Auto Stadium, Tîrnauca | 1,300 |
| Milsami | Orhei | Complexul Sportiv Raional | 3,000 |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | Sărata-Galbenă | Stadionul Municipal, Hîncești | 1,000 |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | Suruceni | Suruceni Stadium | 1,500 |
| Sheriff | Tiraspol | Sheriff Stadium | 12,726 |
| Speranța | Nisporeni | Complexul Sportiv Raional, Orhei | 3,000 |
| Zaria | Bălți | Stadionul Orășenesc | 7,000 |
| Zimbru | Chișinău | Zimbru Stadium | 10,400 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Dinamo-Auto | Igor Dobrovolski | Vitalie Bordian | Joma | OM |
| Milsami | Veaceslav Rusnac | Andrei Cojocari | Kelme | Dufremol, Avia Invest, Moldclassica |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | Lilian Popescu | Vladimir Ambros | Joma | CUN Auto Rentals, MAIB |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | Serghei Cebotari | Vitalie Plămădeală | Macron | Niagara fitness club, Craft Meat |
| Sheriff | Goran Sablić | Mateo Sušić | Adidas | IDC |
| Speranța | Cristian Efros | Ștefan Efros | Nike | Orom Imexpo, Mticket.md |
| Zaria | Alexandru Patraman | Vladimir Livșiț | Joma | Fundația Renato Usatîi, Bălți, OM |
| Zimbru | Sorin Colceag | Ion Jardan | Joma | Chateau Vartely, amg-holding.md |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dinamo-Auto | Veaceslav Semionov | End of caretaker spell | End of 2017 season | Pre-season | Viorel Frunză | 20 January 2018 |
| Zimbru | Iurie Osipenco | Sacked | End of 2017 season | Pre-season | Vladimir Aga | 23 February 2018 |
| Zaria | Ștefan Stoica | Sacked | 13 December 2017 | Pre-season | Vlad Goian | 5 February 2018 |
| Dinamo-Auto | Viorel Frunză | Demoted to assistant coach | 19 March 2018 | Pre-season | Igor Dobrovolski | 19 March 2018 |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | Serghei Secu | Resigned | 15 April 2018 | 8th | Serghei Cebotari | 15 April 2018 |
| Sheriff | Roberto Bordin | Resigned | 24 April 2018 | 1st | Victor Mihailov (interim) | 24 April 2018 |
| Sheriff | Victor Mihailov | End of caretaker spell | 7 June 2018 | 1st | Goran Sablić | 7 June 2018 |
| Zimbru | Vladimir Aga | Removed from position | 12 June 2018 | 7th | Serghei Secu | 12 June 2018 |
| Zimbru | Serghei Secu | Sacked | 1 August 2018 | 5th | Sorin Colceag | 1 August 2018 |
| Zaria | Vlad Goian | Sacked | 25 October 2018 | 8th | Alexandru Patraman (interim) | 25 October 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sheriff Tiraspol (C) | 28 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 58 | 14 | +44 | 63 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Milsami Orhei | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 24 | +12 | 45 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Petrocub-Hîncești | 28 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 38 | 28 | +10 | 45 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Speranța Nisporeni | 28 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 38 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Zimbru Chișinău | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 36 | |
| 6 | Dinamo-Auto | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 25 | 43 | −18 | 28 | |
| 7 | Sfîntul Gheorghe | 28 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 50 | −20 | 26 | |
| 8 | Zaria Bălți (R) | 28 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 26 | 46 | −20 | 22 | Relegation to Division "A" |

* 1 2 Milsami ahead of Petrocub on head-to-head points: Milsami : 7p, Petrocub : 4p.
* ↑ Since the winners of 2018–19 Moldovan Cup, Sheriff Tiraspol, qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the Cup winner (Europa League first qualifying round) was passed to the next best-placed team (the fourth-placed team).

## Results

### Matches 1−14

Teams will play each other twice (once home, once away).

| Home \ Away | DIN | MIL | PET | SFÎ | SHE | SPE | ZAR | ZIM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dinamo-Auto | — | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Milsami Orhei | 4–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | 0–3 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–6 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 5–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | — | 3–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 |
| Speranța Nisporeni | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Zaria Bălți | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 |
| Zimbru Chișinău | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — |

* ↑ Zimbru received a 0–3 technical loss in a away game against Petrocub due to violation of regulations. The original match ended in a 2–1 victory for Petrocub
* ↑ Zimbru received a 0–3 technical loss in a home game against Zaria due to violation of regulations. The original match ended in a 4–3 victory for Zimbru.

### Matches 15−28

Teams will play each other twice (once home, once away).

| Home \ Away | DIN | MIL | PET | SFÎ | SHE | SPE | ZAR | ZIM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dinamo-Auto | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 |
| Milsami Orhei | 0–1 | — | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | 5–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | — | 2–0 | 5–2 | 3–0 |
| Speranța Nisporeni | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Zaria Bălți | 1–1 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 |
| Zimbru Chișinău | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | — |

* ↑ Zimbru received a 0–3 technical loss in a away game against Dinamo-Auto due to violation of regulations. The original match ended in a 1–1 draw.
* ↑ Zimbru received a 0–3 technical loss in a away game against Sheriff due to violation of regulations. The original match ended in a 3–0 victory for Sheriff.
* ↑ Zimbru received a 0–3 technical loss in a home game against Speranța due to violation of regulations. The original match ended in a 1–0 victory for Zimbru.

## Results by round

The following table represents the teams game results in each round.

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dinamo-Auto | W | D | D | L | L | W | L | D | D | L | D | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | L | W | W |
| Milsami Orhei | W | W | L | W | D | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | D | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | W | W | L | L |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | L | L | W | W | D | L | D | W | L | W | D | D | W | W | W | D | L | D | W | W | D | D | W | D | W | W | L | L |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | L | D | L | L | D | W | D | D | W | L | L | D | L | D | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | L | W | D | L | L | D | L |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | D | W | W | L | W |
| Speranța Nisporeni | D | L | D | D | D | W | D | L | D | D | D | L | W | D | D | L | W | W | L | W | W | L | D | W | L | L | W | W |
| Zaria Bălți | D | D | D | L | D | L | L | W | D | L | L | D | W | L | D | W | L | D | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | D | L |
| Zimbru Chișinău | L | D | D | D | W | L | D | D | L | D | D | L | L | L | D | W | W | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | W |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Vladimir Ambros | Petrocub | 12 |
| 2 | Alhaji Kamara | Sheriff | 9 |
| 3 | Ziguy Badibanga | Sheriff | 8 |
| 3 | Gerson Rodrigues | Sheriff | 8 |
| 5 | Eugeniu Rebenja | Dinamo-Auto | 7 |
| 5 | Mihai Plătică | Milsami | 7 |
| 5 | Alexandru Antoniuc | Milsami | 7 |
| 8 | Sergiu Istrati | Sf. Gheorghe | 6 |
| 9 | Ion Nicolaescu | Zimbru | 5 |
| 9 | Aleksandr Butenko | Milsami | 5 |
| 9 | Artiom Puntus | Sf. Gheorghe (3) & Petrocub (2) | 5 |
| 9 | Denis Janu | Dinamo-Auto | 5 |
| 9 | Evgheni Oancea | Sheriff | 5 |
| 9 | Alexandru Bejan | Petrocub (3) & Dinamo-Auto (2) | 5 |
| 9 | Vadim Gulceac | Zaria | 5 |
| 9 | Alexandru Suvorov | Sf. Gheorghe | 5 |
| 9 | Ilie Damașcan | Zimbru | 5 |

## Hat-tricks

| Player | Home | Away | Result | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Alhaji Kamara | Sheriff | Sfîntul Gheorghe | 4–0 | 16 June 2018 |
| Conrado | Zaria | Milsami | 3–4 | 1 September 2018 |

## Top assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ziguy Badibanga | Sheriff | 8 |
| 2 | Artur Pătraș | Petrocub | 7 |
| 2 | Vadim Gulceac | Zaria | 7 |
| 4 | Antun Palić | Sheriff | 6 |
| 4 | Vadim Paireli | Sf. Gheorghe (3) & Petrocub (3) | 6 |
| 4 | Vadim Rață | Milsami | 6 |
| 7 | Alexandru Onica | Zimbru | 5 |
| 7 | Mihai Plătică | Milsami | 5 |
| 9 | Vladislav Ivanov | Petrocub | 4 |
| 9 | Yury Kendysh | Sheriff | 4 |
| 9 | Anatol Cheptine | Dinamo-Auto | 4 |
| 9 | Cristiano da Silva | Sheriff | 4 |
| 9 | Ilie Damașcan | Zimbru | 4 |
| 9 | Dinu Graur | Milsami | 4 |

## Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Serghei Pașcenco | Sheriff | 11 |
| 2 | Daniil Avdyushkin | Speranța | 9 |
| 2 | Radu Mîțu | Milsami | 9 |
| 2 | Dumitru Celeadnic | Petrocub | 9 |
| 5 | Cristian Avram | Dinamo-Auto | 8 |
| 6 | Dorian Railean | Sf. Gheorghe | 6 |
| 7 | Mickaël Meira | Zimbru | 5 |
| 7 | Zvonimir Mikulić | Sheriff | 5 |
| 9 | Vladimir Livșiț | Zaria | 4 |
| 10 | Victor Buga | Zimbru | 3 |

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sheriff Tiraspol | 19,420 | 3,500 | 600 | 1,387 | $+3.2%^†$ |
| 2 | Zimbru Chișinău | 18,010 | 5,500 | 350 | 1,286 | $+42.9%^†$ |
| 3 | Zaria Bălți | 16,550 | 2,500 | 50 | 1,182 | $−23.4%^†$ |
| 4 | Milsami Orhei | 14,920 | 2,000 | 120 | 1,065 | $+5.3%^†$ |
| 5 | Petrocub-Hîncești | 12,950 | 1,500 | 300 | 925 | $+30.1%^†$ |
| 6 | Speranța Nisporeni | 4,550 | 1,000 | 100 | 325 | $−26.8%^†$ |
| 7 | Sfîntul Gheorghe | 3,420 | 400 | 100 | 244 | $−24.2%^†$ |
| 8 | Dinamo-Auto | 1,400 | 200 | 50 | 100 | $−28.1%^†$ |
| | League total | 91,220 | 5,500 | 50 | 814 | $+17.0%^†$ |

Source: fmf (in Romanian)

