2017–18 Moldovan Cup

2017–18 Moldovan Cup

The Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău hosted the final
Country	Moldova
Dates	22 July 2017 – 23 May 2018
Teams	50
Champions	Milsami Orhei
Runners-up	Zimbru Chișinău
Matches played	47
Goals scored	207 (4.4 per match)
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

The 2017–18 Moldovan Cup (Romanian: Cupa Moldovei) was the 27th season of the annual Moldovan football cup competition. Sheriff Tiraspol entered as the defending champions after winning the 2016–17 edition. It began with the first preliminary round on 22 July 2017, and concluded with the final on 23 May 2018. The winner qualifies for the first qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.

Format and schedule[]

Both preliminary rounds and the first two rounds proper were regionalised to reduce teams travel costs. All ties level after 90 minutes used extra time to determine the winner, with a penalty shoot-out to follow if necessary.^[1][2]

Round	Match dates	Fixtures	Clubs
First Preliminary Round	22 July 2017	14	50 → 36
Second Preliminary Round	25 July 2017	4	36 → 32
First Round	12–13 August 2017	11	32 → 21
Second Round	19 September 2017, 3 October 2017	5	21 → 16
Round of 16	24–25 October 2017	8	16 → 8
Quarter-Finals	18 April 2018	4	8 → 4
Semi-Finals	9 May 2018	2	4 → 2
Final	23 May 2018	1	2 → 1

Participating teams[]

The following teams are qualified for the competition. Reserve teams are excluded.^[3]

Divizia Națională the 10 teams of the 2017 season	Divizia A the 11 non-reserve teams of the 2017 season	Divizia B the 29 non-reserve teams of the 2017 season
Sheriff Tiraspol title holder Dacia Chișinău Milsami Orhei Zaria Bălți Zimbru Chișinău Petrocub-Hîncești Speranța Nisporeni Dinamo-Auto Tiraspol Sfîntul Gheorghe Spicul Chișcăreni	Saxan Ceadîr-Lunga Ungheni Victoria Bardar Sparta Selemet Sîngerei Edineț Iskra Rîbnița Real Succes Chișinău Codru Lozova Grănicerul Glodeni Cahul-2005	Prut Leova Sparta Chișinău Speranța Drochia Maiak Chirsova Florești Sinteza Căușeni Bogzești Sireți Slobozia Mare Rîșcani Nistru Otaci Olimp Comrat Tighina FCM Ungheni

Number in brackets denote the level of respective league in Football in Moldova. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

First Preliminary Round[]

28 clubs from the Divizia B entered this round. Teams that finished higher on the league in the previous season played their ties away. received a bye for the first preliminary round. All matches were played on 22 July 2017.

Second Preliminary Round[]

8 clubs from the Divizia B entered this round. Teams that finished higher on the league in the previous season played their ties away. All matches were played on 25 July 2017.
Speranța Drochia, Rîșcani, , FCM Ungheni, , and Olimp Comrat received a bye for the second preliminary round.

First Round[]

The 11 winners from the preliminary rounds joined the 11 Divizia A teams. In a match, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league. Matches were played on 12 and 13 August 2017.

Second Round[]

The 8 winners from the previous round joined the 2 Divizia Națională sides seeded 9-10, Sfîntul Gheorghe and Spicul Chișcăreni. , Victoria Bardar and received a bye for the second round. The home teams and the pairs for 2 Divizia Națională sides were determined in a draw held on 16 August 2017.^[5] Matches were played on 19 September 2017 and 3 October 2017.

Final stage[]

Bracket[]

	Round of 16					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	Spicul Chișcăreni		2
	Dinamo-Auto		4
						Dinamo-Auto		w/o
						Dacia Chișinău		—
	Dacia Chișinău		6
	Grănicerul Glodeni		1
											Zimbru Chișinău		0 (5)
											Dinamo-Auto		0 (4)
	Zaria Bălți		6
	Sîngerei		1
						Zimbru Chișinău		1
						Zaria Bălți		0
			0
	Zimbru Chișinău		2
																Milsami Orhei		2
																Zimbru Chișinău		0
	Victoria Bardar		1
	Sheriff Tiraspol		3
						Milsami Orhei		2
						Sheriff Tiraspol		0
	Sfîntul Gheorghe		0
	Milsami Orhei		2
											Petrocub-Hîncești		1
											Milsami Orhei		2
	Petrocub-Hîncești		18
			0
						Petrocub-Hîncești		2
						Speranța Nisporeni		0
	Sparta Selemet		1
	Speranța Nisporeni		2

Round of 16[]

The 5 winners from the previous round and , Victoria Bardar, joined the remaining 8 Divizia Națională sides seeded 1-8. The home teams and the pairs were determined in a draw held on 6 October 2017.^[6] Matches were played on 24 and 25 October 2017.

Quarter-Finals[]

The 8 winners from the previous round entered the quarter-finals. The home teams were determined in a draw held on 27 October 2017.^[7]Matches were played on 18 April 2018.

Semi-Finals[]

The 4 winners from the previous round entered the semi-finals. The home teams were determined in a draw held on 20 April 2018.^[9]Matches were played on 9 May 2018.

Final[]

The final was played on Wednesday 23 May 2018 at the Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău. The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held on 10 May 2018.^[10]

Milsami

Zimbru

GK 1 Radu Mîțu DF 2 Artur Crăciun DF 6 Constantin Bogdan DF 22 Dinu Graur DF 23 Vadim Bolohan  116' MF 5 Mihai Plătică MF 7 Vadim Rață  64' MF 17 Andrei Cojocari (c) FW 13 Sergiu Plătică  81' FW 16 Alexandru Antoniuc FW 19 Romeo Surdu  48'  58' Substitutes: GK 50 Anatol Chirinciuc DF 3 Andrei Novicov DF 4 Vasile Jardan MF 10 Gheorghe Andronic  64' MF 14 Andrei Rusnac FW 9 Maxim Antoniuc  81' FW 18 Igor Bugaiov  58' Head Coach: Veaceslav Rusnac

GK 1 Emil Tîmbur DF 2 Victor Golovatenco  85' DF 22 Igor Țîgîrlaș DF 23 Dmitri Telegin DF 90 Ion Jardan (c) MF 7 Ilie Damașcan MF 20 Cristian Nagornîi  72'  98' MF 21 Willian Pozo-Venta MF 84 Alexandru Onica MF 89 Eugen Sidorenco  54' FW 9 Ion Nicolaescu  74' Substitutes: GK 12 Victor Buga DF 27 Alexei Ciopa MF 6 Victor Bogaciuc MF 10 Victor Stînă  98' MF 77 Nichita Iurașco  54' MF 99 Radu Scoarță FW 19 Blaise Yaméogo  74' Head Coach: Vladimir Aga

Assistant referees: Marcin Boniek (Poland) Dawid Golis (Poland) Fourth official: Alexandru Tean (Moldova)

Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if score is still level. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

References[]

External links[]

• Cupa Moldovei on soccerway