March 19, 2021
These diaries covered Petrocub’s first league match after the winter break in February, when a 9-1 win at Codru Lozova consolidated their position in second place behind runaway leaders Sheriff of Tiraspol. Since that match, Petrocub have recorded victories over Dacia ( 4-1 at home ), Speranta ( 3-1 away ) and Sfintul Gheorghe ( 2-0 home ). However, with Sheriff winning all of their matches they remained 9 points behind the leaders with 11 games still to be played, although they stood 10 points clear of third placed Milsami-Orhei. They went into today’s game with a 9-3-1 away record.
Sheriff, in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria, have won 18 of the last 20 Moldovan championships. Petrocub are the only side to have beaten Sheriff so far this season, a 1-0 home win at the start of November, although they were well beaten 1-4 in Tiraspol in August. Petrocub’s only other defeat was at home to Milsami-Orhei ( 1-2 ) in September, but since then they are unbeaten in 15 games.
Sheriff have failed to win only one other game apart from their defeat at Petrocub, a 0-0 home draw with Dacia, and possessed a home record of 12-1-0 with a goal difference of 52-2. In fact, all season Sheriff had conceded just 6 goals and went into this game with 8 wins on the trot.
Sheriff had a disappointing campaign in Europe, and after a defeat in Azerbaijan to Qarabag in the Champions League qualifiers, they were eliminated from the Europa League by Dundalk in a penalty shoot-out. That result saw the resignation of Croatian coach Zoran Zekic to be replaced by the familiar face of ex Shakhtyor Soligorsk coach Yuriy Vernydub.
Sheriff’s starting XI for today’s match did not contain a single Moldovan or Transnistrian citizen, with two players each from Colombia, Brazil, Bosnia, plus players from Slovenia, Greece, Mali and Luxembourg. On their bench were two players from Malawi, as well as players from the Ivory Coast, the Netherlands, Austria, Ghana, oh and 4 from Moldova, of which Alexandre Belousav was the only Transnistrian.
Captain Bosnian Rifet Kapic is on loan from Paderborn, striker Adama Traore has 28 caps for Mali, striker Lovro Bizjak has one cap for Slovenia, ex-Panathinaikos, Panionios and Mechelen midfielder Dimitirs Kolovos has 9 caps for Greece, whilst midfield play-maker Sebastian Thill is on loan from Progres Niederkorn and has 10 caps for Luxembourg.
In contrast, Petrocub started with 9 Moldovans, plus Portuguese keeper Mickael Meira and Cameroonian right-back Jacques Onana. In addition, all the substitutes were Moldovans. In total, 6 of the match-day squad had represented the Moldova national team.
Today’s match was played in Sheriff’s winter indoor area, with a covered roof and an artificial pitch. Although it was a 3pm kick-off local time, the floodlights were on inside the arena, and although temperature outside were forecasted to be 4 degrees, this was mainly irrelevant inside the arena, Due to the Covid pandemic the match was played behind closed doors.
After a quiet opening 15 minutes, Petrocub had the first chance to score when a corner reached Ambros on the left-hand edge of the penalty area. His shot was fired across the goal-face but Gulceac was unable to react quickly enough to turn the ball into the net. Instead, it hit his leg and rebounded well wide of the goal to be cleared to safety. Sheriff responded with Traore waltzing into the Petrocub area past the statuesque Efros, but his shot was well saved by the diving Meira, and Potirniche cleared the danger.
Petrocub had the better of the rest of the first half with Ambros looking dangerous on the left wing. First his cross was just too high for Gulceac, and after a free-kick was partially cleared, his shot was heading for the top corner until being headed over the bar by a defender for a corner. In the 36th minute, Turcan was allowed to progress from half-way to the edge of the Sheriff area but his shot whistled fractionally high with Sheriff keeper Markovic well-beaten.
For Sheriff, Luxembourger Thill was the dead-ball specialist, taking all the corners and free-kicks. They can’t be many sides outside of the Duchy that can lay claim to that !
Petrocub would have felt a little disappointed to be going into break level, but Sheriff played like a different team in the second half. They pinned Petrocub into their own half for virtually the whole half, and had 68% of the possession for the whole match.
With less than a minute gone in the second half Kolovos saw a shot blocked, and Traore’s follow-up effort with the outside of his left foot whilst running away from goal was blocked by Meira. Five minutes later Costanza cut back inside the left back but shot just over, before there was an incredible series of missed chances in the 54th minute.
Kolovos broke into the Petrocub area but Meira dived to parry his goal bound shot. Dago followed up with a first time left footed effort but Meira had got to his feet and was able to push the ball out just as it was about to cross the line. As several Sheriff players appealed for a goal, Thill played on but his shot was blocked on the line by Potirniche, before Traore shot the loose ball into the side-netting from a tight angle.
Despite the narrow escape, there was no let-up for the visitors and it felt as if a goal was inevitable. In the next five minutes Radeljic headed weakly to the keeper from a good position, a mazy run by Traore was crowded out just before he could latch onto a return pass, and Cristiano hit the post from a tight angle after being released by Dago, although Meira looked to have had it covered at his near post.
Petrocub weathered the storm though, and although Sheriff continue to dominate the only reasonable chance they created in the final half hour was a left-footed shot from Thill that sped past the post.
Overall, Sheriff deserved to win the game, but a stout defensive performance and some heroics from Meira earned Petrocub a point to keep their faint title hopes alive. The honours have been even in the three matches between the two sides so far this season, but Sheriff are in pole position thanks to their ability to demolish the other sides in the league. The points dropped early in the season by Petrocub look to be proving costly despite their fine current unbeaten run.
Sheriff Tiraspol : Markovic – Costanza, Arboleda, Radeljic, Cristiano – Kolovos, Thill, Kapic, Castenada – Bizjak ( Dago, Banda ), Traore
CS Petrocub : Meira – Jardan , Ohana, Potirniche, Efros, S. Platica ( Vacarcuic ) – Turcan, Onica, M. Platica, Ambros ( Sandu ) – Gulceac ( Bogaciuc )
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBZ1bG-IDYY
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