# 2017–18 Moldovan Cup

The 2017–18 Moldovan Cup (Romanian: Cupa Moldovei) was the 27th season of the annual Moldovan football cup competition. Sheriff Tiraspol entered as the defending champions after winning the 2016–17 edition. It began with the first preliminary round on 22 July 2017, and concluded with the final on 23 May 2018. The winner qualifies for the first qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.

## Format and schedule

Both preliminary rounds and the first two rounds proper were regionalised to reduce teams travel costs. All ties level after 90 minutes used extra time to determine the winner, with a penalty shoot-out to follow if necessary.
| Round | Match dates | Fixtures | Clubs |
| First Preliminary Round | 22 July 2017 | 14 | 50 → 36 |
| Second Preliminary Round | 25 July 2017 | 4 | 36 → 32 |
| First Round | 12–13 August 2017 | 11 | 32 → 21 |
| Second Round | 19 September 2017, 3 October 2017 | 5 | 21 → 16 |
| Round of 16 | 24–25 October 2017 | 8 | 16 → 8 |
| Quarter-Finals | 18 April 2018 | 4 | 8 → 4 |
| Semi-Finals | 9 May 2018 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | 23 May 2018 | 1 | 2 → 1 |

## Participating teams

The following teams are qualified for the competition. Reserve teams are excluded.
| Divizia Națională the 10 teams of the 2017 season | Divizia A the 11 non-reserve teams of the 2017 season | Divizia B the 29 non-reserve teams of the 2017 season |
| Sheriff Tiraspol $^{titleholder}$ Dacia Chișinău Milsami Orhei Zaria Bălți Zimbru Chișinău Petrocub-Hîncești Speranța Nisporeni Dinamo-Auto Tiraspol Sfîntul Gheorghe Spicul Chișcăreni | Saxan Ceadîr-Lunga Ungheni Victoria Bardar Sparta Selemet Sîngerei Edineț Iskra Rîbnița Real Succes Chișinău Codru Lozova Grănicerul Glodeni Cahul-2005 | Prut Leova Sparta Chișinău Intersport Sănătăuca Speranța Drochia Maiak Chirsova Florești Sinteza Căușeni Bogzești Ceadîr-Lunga Congaz Maiac Cioropcani Sireți Anina Anenii Noi Cruiz Camenca Slobozia Mare Fălești Rîșcani Codru-Juniori Cricova Boldurești Nistru Otaci Fîrlădeni Fortuna Pleșeni Fulger Ialoveni Olimp Comrat Socol Copceac Steaua-57 Chișinău Tighina FCM Ungheni |
Number in brackets denote the level of respective league in Football in Moldova. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

## First preliminary round

28 clubs from the Divizia B entered this round. Teams that finished higher on the league in the previous season played their ties away. Cricova received a bye for the first preliminary round. All matches were played on 22 July 2017.

## Second preliminary round

8 clubs from the Divizia B entered this round. Teams that finished higher on the league in the previous season played their ties away. All matches were played on 25 July 2017. Speranța Drochia, Rîșcani, Intersport Sănătăuca, FCM Ungheni, Socol Copceac, Fortuna Pleșeni and Olimp Comrat received a bye for the second preliminary round.

## First round

The 11 winners from the preliminary rounds joined the 11 Divizia A teams. In a match, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league. Matches were played on 12 and 13 August 2017.

## Second round

The 8 winners from the previous round joined the 2 Divizia Națională sides seeded 9-10, Sfîntul Gheorghe and Spicul Chișcăreni. Steaua-57 Chișinău, Victoria Bardar and Socol Copceac received a bye for the second round. The home teams and the pairs for 2 Divizia Națională sides were determined in a draw held on 16 August 2017. Matches were played on 19 September 2017 and 3 October 2017.

## Final stage
### Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | Final |
| Spicul Chișcăreni | Spicul Chișcăreni | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dinamo-Auto | Dinamo-Auto | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dinamo-Auto | Dinamo-Auto | 4 | Dinamo-Auto | Dinamo-Auto | w/o | | | | | | | |
| | | | Dacia Chișinău | Dacia Chișinău | — | | | | | | | |
| Dacia Chișinău | Dacia Chișinău | 6 | Dacia Chișinău | Dacia Chișinău | — | | | | | | | |
| Grănicerul Glodeni | Grănicerul Glodeni | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Grănicerul Glodeni | Grănicerul Glodeni | 1 | | | | Zimbru Chișinău | Zimbru Chișinău | 0 (5) | | | | |
| | | | | | | Dinamo-Auto | Dinamo-Auto | 0 (4) | | | | |
| Zaria Bălți | Zaria Bălți | 6 | | | | | | | Dinamo-Auto | Dinamo-Auto | 0 (4) | | | | |
| Sîngerei | Sîngerei | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sîngerei | Sîngerei | 1 | Zimbru Chișinău | Zimbru Chișinău | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Zaria Bălți | Zaria Bălți | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Steaua-57 Chișinău | Steaua-57 Chișinău | 0 | Zaria Bălți | Zaria Bălți | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Zimbru Chișinău | Zimbru Chișinău | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Zimbru Chișinău | Zimbru Chișinău | 2 | | | | | | | | Milsami Orhei | Milsami Orhei | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Zimbru Chișinău | Zimbru Chișinău | 0 |
| Victoria Bardar | Victoria Bardar | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | Zimbru Chișinău | Zimbru Chișinău | 0 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | Sheriff Tiraspol | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | Sheriff Tiraspol | 3 | Milsami Orhei | Milsami Orhei | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Sheriff Tiraspol | Sheriff Tiraspol | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | Sfîntul Gheorghe | 0 | Sheriff Tiraspol | Sheriff Tiraspol | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Milsami Orhei | Milsami Orhei | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Milsami Orhei | Milsami Orhei | 2 | | | | Petrocub-Hîncești | Petrocub-Hîncești | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | | | Milsami Orhei | Milsami Orhei | 2 | | | | |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | Petrocub-Hîncești | 18 | | | | | | | Milsami Orhei | Milsami Orhei | 2 | | | | |
| Socol Copceac | Socol Copceac | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Socol Copceac | Socol Copceac | 0 | Petrocub-Hîncești | Petrocub-Hîncești | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Speranța Nisporeni | Speranța Nisporeni | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Sparta Selemet | Sparta Selemet | 1 | Speranța Nisporeni | Speranța Nisporeni | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Speranța Nisporeni | Speranța Nisporeni | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |

## Round of 16

The 5 winners from the previous round and Steaua-57 Chișinău, Victoria Bardar, Sokol Copceac joined the remaining 8 Divizia Națională sides seeded 1-8. The home teams and the pairs were determined in a draw held on 6 October 2017. Matches were played on 24 and 25 October 2017.

## Quarter-finals

The 8 winners from the previous round entered the quarter-finals. The home teams were determined in a draw held on 27 October 2017. Matches were played on 18 April 2018.

## Semi-finals

The 4 winners from the previous round entered the semi-finals. The home teams were determined in a draw held on 20 April 2018. Matches were played on 9 May 2018.

## Final

The final was played on Wednesday 23 May 2018 at the Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău. The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held on 10 May 2018.
| Milsami | Zimbru |
| GK | 1 | Radu Mîțu |
| DF | 2 | Artur Crăciun |
| DF | 6 | Constantin Bogdan |
| DF | 22 | Dinu Graur |
| DF | 23 | Vadim Bolohan | 116' |
| MF | 5 | Mihai Plătică |
| MF | 7 | Vadim Rață | | 64' |
| MF | 17 | Andrei Cojocari (c) |
| FW | 13 | Sergiu Plătică | | 81' |
| FW | 16 | Alexandru Antoniuc |
| FW | 19 | Romeo Surdu | 48' | 58' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 50 | Anatol Chirinciuc |
| DF | 3 | Andrei Novicov |
| DF | 4 | Vasile Jardan |
| MF | 10 | Gheorghe Andronic | | 64' |
| MF | 14 | Andrei Rusnac |
| FW | 9 | Maxim Antoniuc | | 81' |
| FW | 18 | Igor Bugaiov | | 58' |
| Head Coach: ||
| Veaceslav Rusnac ||
| GK | 1 | Emil Tîmbur |
| DF | 2 | Victor Golovatenco | 85' |
| DF | 22 | Igor Țîgîrlaș |
| DF | 23 | Dmitri Telegin |
| DF | 90 | Ion Jardan (c) |
| MF | 7 | Ilie Damașcan |
| MF | 20 | Cristian Nagornîi | 72' | 98' |
| MF | 21 | Willian Pozo-Venta |
| MF | 84 | Alexandru Onica |
| MF | 89 | Eugen Sidorenco | | 54' |
| FW | 9 | Ion Nicolaescu | | 74' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 12 | Victor Buga |
| DF | 27 | Alexei Ciopa |
| MF | 6 | Victor Bogaciuc |
| MF | 10 | Victor Stînă | | 98' |
| MF | 77 | Nichita Iurașco | | 54' |
| MF | 99 | Radu Scoarță |
| FW | 19 | Blaise Yaméogo | | 74' |
| Head Coach: ||
| Vladimir Aga ||
| Assistant referees: Marcin Boniek (Poland) Dawid Golis (Poland) Fourth official: Alexandru Tean (Moldova) | Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if score is still level. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used. |