Speranta Crihana Veche made a promising start to their first ever season in the National Division. On Sunday, July 15, the southern team traveled to Zimbru Chisinau on the opening matchday and held the hosts to a surprising 1-1 draw, Info-Prim Neo reports. Speranta broke the deadlock by the middle of the first half thanks to a goal from Vadim Cricimar. However, they surrendered their lead at the beginning of the second half when Zimbru’s Constantin Iavoschi netted. Meanwhile, title runners-up Dacia Chisinau failed to win in their first league match. The Yellow Wolves were given a tough fight by Iskra-Stal Ribnita in a game that ended 2-2. Dacia leveled the score a few minutes before the final whistle thanks to striker Ghenadie Orbu. The other results of the matchday were Sheriff Tiraspol – FC Costuleni 5-0, Olimpia Bălţi – Nistru Otaci 2-0, Milsami – Academia 1-0, Rapid – FC Tiraspol 0-1. The next round is scheduled for July 21 and 22 with the following fixtures: Milsami – Nistru, FC Tiraspol – Olimpia, Speranta – Rapid, Dacia – Zimbru, FC Costuleni – Iskra-Stal, Academia – Sheriff.