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.^[1]

Divizia Națională

Season	2018
Dates	1 April 2018 – 24 November 2018
Champions	Sheriff 17th title
Relegated	Zaria
Champions League	Sheriff
Europa League	Milsami Petrocub Speranța
Matches played	112
Goals scored	269 (2.4 per match)
Top goalscorer	Vladimir Ambros (12 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Serghei Pașcenco (11 clean sheets)
Biggest home win	Sheriff 4–0 Sf. Gheorghe (16 June 2018) Sheriff 5–1 Zaria (1 July 2018) Milsami 4–0 Dinamo-Auto (1 July 2018)
Biggest away win	Dinamo-Auto 0–5 Sheriff (10 June 2018)
Highest scoring	Sf. Gheorghe 3–6 Petrocub (14 April 2018)
Longest winning run	6 matches Sheriff
Longest unbeaten run	11 matches Sheriff
Longest winless run	12 matches Dinamo-Auto
Longest losing run	6 matches Dinamo-Auto
Highest attendance	5,500 Zimbru 0–0 Petrocub (22 September 2018)
Lowest attendance	50 Dinamo-Auto 0–0 Sf. Gheorghe (20 May 2018) Dinamo-Auto 1–2 Speranța (27 June 2018) Dinamo-Auto 3–0 Zimbru (1 September 2018) Dinamo-Auto 1–0 Milsami (22 September 2018) Zaria 1–1 Sf. Gheorghe (10 November 2018)
Total attendance	91,220
Average attendance	814
← 2017 2019 →

Teams

Zimbru

Zaria

Sf. Gheorghe

Speranța

Petrocub

Tiraspol

Milsami

Tiraspol teams:
Dinamo-Auto
Sheriff

Location of teams in 2018 Divizia Națională

Number of teams by region

Region	Number of teams	Club(s)
Transnistria	2	Dinamo-Auto and Sheriff
Bălți	1	Zaria
Chișinău		Zimbru
Hîncești		Petrocub-Hîncești
Ialoveni		Sfîntul Gheorghe
Nisporeni		Speranța
Orhei		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	Vlad Goian	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[2]	Pre-season	Viorel Frunză	20 January 2018[3]
Zimbru	Iurie Osipenco	Sacked	End of 2017 season[4]		Vladimir Aga	23 February 2018[5]
Zaria	Ștefan Stoica	Sacked	13 December 2017[6]		Vlad Goian	5 February 2018[7]
Dinamo-Auto	Viorel Frunză	Demoted to assistant coach	19 March 2018[8]		Igor Dobrovolski	19 March 2018[9]
Sfîntul Gheorghe	Serghei Secu	Resigned	15 April 2018	8th	Serghei Cebotari	15 April 2018[10]
Sheriff	Roberto Bordin	Resigned	24 April 2018[11]	1st	Victor Mihailov (interim)	24 April 2018[12]
	Victor Mihailov	End of caretaker spell	7 June 2018	1st	Goran Sablić	7 June 2018[13]
Zimbru	Vladimir Aga	Removed from position	12 June 2018	7th	Serghei Secu	12 June 2018[14]
	Serghei Secu	Sacked	1 August 2018	5th	Sorin Colceag	1 August 2018[15]
Zaria	Vlad Goian	Sacked	25 October 2018	8th	Alexandru Patraman (interim)	25 October 2018[16]

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[a]	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[b]
3	Petrocub-Hîncești	28	12	9	7	38	28	+10	45[a]
4	Speranța Nisporeni	28	9	11	8	27	26	+1	38
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"

Source: FMF, UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-off (only if deciding champion when two teams tied); 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored; 6) Head-to-head goals scored; 7) Matches won; 8) Goal difference; 9) Goals scored; 10) Less red cards; 11) Less yellow cards.^[17]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Milsami ahead of Petrocub on head-to-head points: Milsami : 7p, Petrocub : 4p.
2. 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[a]
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[b]	—

Source: FMF, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:

1. 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 ^[18]
2. 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.^[18]

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[a]
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[b]
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[c]	3–1	—

Source: FMF, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:

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.^[18]
2. 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.^[18]
3. 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.^[18]

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[a]	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[a]	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[a]	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[a]	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[a]	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[b]	L[b]	D	W	W	L[b]	L[b]	L[b]	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	W

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[19]
1	Vladimir Ambros	Petrocub	12
2	Alhaji Kamara	Sheriff	9
3	Ziguy Badibanga	Sheriff	8
	Gerson Rodrigues	Sheriff
5	Eugeniu Rebenja	Dinamo-Auto	7
	Mihai Plătică	Milsami
	Alexandru Antoniuc	Milsami
8	Sergiu Istrati	Sf. Gheorghe	6
9	Ion Nicolaescu	Zimbru	5
	Aleksandr Butenko	Milsami
	Artiom Puntus	Sf. Gheorghe (3) & Petrocub (2)
	Denis Janu	Dinamo-Auto
	Evgheni Oancea	Sheriff
	Alexandru Bejan	Petrocub (3) & Dinamo-Auto (2)
	Vadim Gulceac	Zaria
	Alexandru Suvorov	Sf. Gheorghe
	Ilie Damașcan	Zimbru

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

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets[20]
1	Serghei Pașcenco	Sheriff	11
2	Daniil Avdyushkin	Speranța	9
	Radu Mîțu	Milsami
	Dumitru Celeadnic	Petrocub
5	Cristian Avram	Dinamo-Auto	8
6	Dorian Railean	Sf. Gheorghe	6
7	Mickaël Meira	Zimbru	5
	Zvonimir Mikulić	Sheriff
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)

Notes

1. Technical win
2. Technical loss