Zimbru Chișinău defeats Sheriff Tiraspol in derby clash
Zimbru Chișinău has secured their third victory over their arch-rivals. In the headline match of Matchday 20 in the Moldovan top flight, Belarusian coach Oleg Kubarev’s men defeated Sheriff Tiraspol 1-0 away from home.
Although Zimbru dominated possession in the first half, both sides managed to carve out two clear scoring opportunities each. The "Yellow-Greens" threatened through Denis Kazlouski and Bruno Paz, but were denied by goalkeeper Victor Straistari on both occasions. At the other end, Serbian keeper Ivan Dokic made crucial saves against efforts from Albanian forward Amarildo Djoni and Israeli midfielder Liam Hermesh. Brazilian Matteo Amoroso netted the match's only goal in the 54th minute with a strike from outside the box.
Following this victory, Zimbru is holding onto 2nd place in the standings with 41 points. Conversely, Sheriff sits in 3rd place, trailing by three points.
In another Matchday 20 fixture, Milsami Orhei and Spartanii-Sportul Selemet played out a goalless draw. Difficult pitch conditions limited both teams to very few scoring chances. Even so, in the 62nd minute, the "Red Eagles" put the ball in the net via Zambian-Norwegian forward Kabamba Tumba Kalabatama, but the goal was erroneously disallowed for offside. Following this stalemate, Milsami remained 4th with 37 points. Spartanii-Sportul remains stuck at the bottom of the table, with no chance of qualifying for the second phase of the championship. The matches for the final round of the regular season are scheduled for November 30.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
