Moldova round-up: Sheriff see off Zimbru

FC Sheriff Tiraspol took a giant stride towards the title with a 3-1 victory against nearest rivals FC Zimbru Chisinau on Monday night.

Heavy snow
Sheriff now hold a ten-point lead at the top of the table following the away victory in a game postponed from the weekend after heavy snow. Sheriff's Moldovan international Vadim Boret opened the scoring in the 17th minute before Cristian Tudor and Andriy Nesteruk punished Zimbru's defensive lapses in the second half. Ionel Citres earned the home side a consolation strike.

Three for Ianchuk
The two sides will meet again in the second leg of their Moldovan Cup semi-final on Thursday, with Zimbru holding a 1-0 advantage. In the other semi-final FC Tiraspol trail FC Nistru 2-1. In the two league games that did take place on Sunday, FC Nistru Otaci kept up their charge in third place with a resounding 4-1 away victory at FC Agro Chisinau, with Serghey Ianchuk scoring a hat-trick.

Second-half strikes
Meanwhile, Tiraspol also secured a victory, winning 2-0 at home to FC Politehnica Chisinau. Ruslan Barburos opened the scoring nine minutes into the second half from the penalty spot before Nigerian Joshua Oniachonam sealed the victory with a second goal after 72 minutes.