Saksan Ceadîr-Lunga Wins Inaugural Moldovan Winter Cup
Saksan Ceadîr-Lunga has clinched victory in the first-ever Moldovan Winter Cup football tournament with one match still to play.
The Liga 1 team secured the trophy with a narrow 1-0 win over Spartanii-Sportul in the second round of Group A.
Ivorian Cresus Dongo scored the only goal of the match in the 56th minute. Saksan missed a chance to extend their lead three minutes later when Nigerian Abubakar Umar failed to convert a penalty.
With this result, the southern Moldovan team has accumulated an unassailable 6 points in Group A and cannot be overtaken by any other contender.
In Group A's other match, Zimbru Chișinău and FC Florești battled to a 1-1 draw. Striker Marin Căruntu put the "yellow-greens" ahead in the 49th minute, but Nicolae Țurcan's FC Florești side found an equaliser through defender Vladimir Covcenco 20 minutes later.
Zimbru Chișinău, coached by Lilian Popescu, proved a major disappointment in the tournament's second phase after easily winning their first three games. Two consecutive draws put them four points behind the leaders, leaving their final match against Saksan to impact only the final standings.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
