Zimbru Chisinau and Sheriff Tiraspol failed to qualify for the Europa League groups. The two teams suffered defeats in the playoff round, IPN reports.
After scoring a 1-0 victory in Chisinau, Zimbru needed a draw on the field of the vice champion of Greece PAOK. But the Greeks won a 4-0 victory in a match in which Zimbru had only ten players during one half. Facundo Abel Pereyra opened the score in the 11th minute, but the elimination of Jean-Mari Amani in the 42nd minute thwarted the plans of Zimbru. Before the end of the first half, Stefanos Athanasiadis scored for a 2-0 scoreline. Towards the end of the game, PAOK scored two more goals through Robert Mak (79th minute) and Maarten Martens (84th minute).
“After the elimination of Amani, the qualification chances diminished significantly. Some of the footballers disappointed me today,” Zimbu coach Oleg Kubarev told a news conference.
For its part, Sheriff lost the return game against Rijeka by 0-3, one week after being beaten in Croatia by 0-1. The Tiraspol team reduced its chances in the 29th minute, when Ligger scored a self-goal. Andrej Kramaric increased the advantage in the 44th minute, while Moises set the final score at 0-3 in the 61st minute.
“We are in a crisis. I didn’t have time to prepare the players for the matches against Rijeka physically and morally during two weeks,” Sheriff coach Zoran Zekic said after the game.
In the current season of the European cups, Moldova was also represented by FC Tiraspol and Veris, but they were eliminated in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.
