FCM Ungheni lost a friendly to FC Zimbru 3-4, yet managed to score three times against one of Moldova’s most decorated clubs. The test match was played at the end of the week, and FC Zimbru TV published the video recap on Saturday, 20 June.
For the town’s side, the score does not tell the whole story. FCM Ungheni play in Liga 1, the second tier of Moldovan football, while Zimbru are preparing for the new top-flight season. Three goals against such an opponent, even in a warm-up game, are a good attacking signal at the start of the summer training camps — all the more so because the previous friendly, against Dacia Buiucani, had ended without a goal.
How the match unfolded
It was, in the organisers’ words, “a seven-goal encounter”. FC Zimbru announced on its official page that it had fielded a mixed team and won 4-3. The hosts’ goals were scored by Michael Ebikabowei — a brace — by a trialist and by Vlad Răileanu, according to the club and the video published by FC Zimbru TV.
The three Ungheni goals were not detailed by the opposing club, and FCM Ungheni had not, by the time of writing, published its own account of the match — with scorers and the line-up it tested. The fact that Zimbru used a mixed team also calls for caution in reading the score: a June friendly measures the stage of preparation, not a definitive balance of power.
A top-flight opponent, on the eve of a new season
Zimbru Chișinău is one of the country’s best-known clubs and part of the elite division of Moldovan football — “Liga 7777”, the former Super League. The new top-flight season begins on 27–28 June 2026 with eight teams, and Zimbru are among the participants, alongside names such as Sheriff, Petrocub and Milsami.
That is precisely why June is a month of training camps and test matches for everyone: clubs are running in their squads ahead of the start. For a second-tier side such as FCM Ungheni, the run of top-flight opponents is a barometer: it shows how close the team is to the higher level it is aiming for.
What is at stake behind the friendlies
FCM Ungheni, the town’s municipal club, comes off a 2025/2026 season in which it was very close to promotion. The team coached by Dorin Bambuleac finished first in its group in the second phase of the competition but missed the jump to the top flight: it was eliminated in the play-off by FC Florești, 5-4, on 16 May.
Against that backdrop, friendlies with top-division teams take on a different weight. After a 0-0 draw with Dacia Buiucani on 13 June — a test passed through defensive solidity — the Zimbru match brought an attacking signal too: three goals scored. The narrow defeat, in a seven-goal game, remains a useful rehearsal rather than a verdict. For Ungheni supporters, what matters is that the team is beginning its pre-season by testing itself, match after match, against higher-level opposition.
The full friendly programme and the line-ups tested have not been made public by the club as of publication.