Eredivisie Weekend Round Up: PSV march on, Feyenoord fight back,

eredivisie premier league footballAjax is grinding to a halt as PSV accelerate towards the Eredivisie championship, writes Neil Adderley in his latest Eredivisie round up.

Feyenoord and Heerenveen claim derby spoils, FC Dordrecht remain rooted, while Tighadouini delivers first win for NAC Breda trainer.

NAC Breda 2 – 1 Cambuur Leeuwarden: First win for Maaskant

An Adnane Tighadouini double finally gave trainer Robert Maaskant his first win, as NAC completed a league double over Cambuur. The left winger struck two late goals to give NAC a first win since December and only a second victory at the Rat Verlegh Stadion since August.

NAC had the better of a tame first period but it was Cambuur’s Bartholomew Ogbeche who came closest to an opening goal. The former PSG striker was unlucky to see his effort come back of the upright.

NAC continued to press forward and on 63 minutes Tighadouini, collecting a Demy de Zeeuw pass before finishing smartly, finally gave the home side a lead they deserved.

Ogbeche pulled a goal back for Cambuur in injury time, after Tighadouini had doubled NAC’s lead, however it would prove no more than a consolation for the disappointing visitors.

ADO Den Haag 3 – 2 PEC Zwolle: Kramer snatches late, late winner for ADO

Michiel Kramer scored with seconds on the clock to seal a dramatic win for ADO at the Kyocera Stadium.

Roland Albert had given ADO the lead after 43 minutes and when Wilson Eduardo found the bottom corner before the hour mark, it seemed Henk Fraser’s team would run out comfortable winners.

However, the PEC fightback was on once Ben Rienstra halved the deficit and it seemed ADO had thrown away the win when Mustafa Saymak levelled in injury time for the visitors.

The pendulum swung once more with just seconds on the clock as club top scorer Kramer slid the ball under PEC keeper Warner Hahn.

The win sees ADO unbeaten in four and pulling away from a relegation battle, while PEC have now lost their last three in the Eredivisie.

Go Ahead Eagles 0 – 2 AZ Alkmaar: In form AZ clip Eagles wings

Goals either side of half time from Simon Poulsen and Robert Muhren strengthened AZ’s grip on a top four Eredivisie finish.

Go Ahead, who had last weekend beaten local rivals PEC Zwolle, had no answers to a dominant AZ whose fourth win in five games sees them in a very healthy looking fourth in the table.

A home defeat finds the Eagles just three points above the relegation zone in fifteenth.

Heracles Almelo 1 – 1 FC Utrecht: Heracles hold on after failing to take advantage

Despite going ahead through a Denni Avdic header on 75 minutes, Heracles quickly conceded and were left clinging on to a point after being reduced to ten men. Sebastian Haller, last week’s four goal hero, was again on hand to secure a point for the visitors.

And it is Utrecht who will feel they should have claimed the win after Almelo defender Jeroen Veldmate collected two yellow cards.

A point was not enough for Heracles and they remain deep in the relegation mire. After losing three on the bounce, Utrecht have now amassed four points from six and sit twelfth in the table.

Heerenveen 3 – 1 FC Groningen: Heerenveen victorious in derby of the north

Heerenveen took the spoils in the derby of the north, however, a 3-1 scoreline somewhat flattered Dwight Lodeweges home side.

Groningen will look back at early missed chances, Albert Rusnak and Michael de Leeuw the guilty parties, as the visitors dominated a fragile looking Heerenveen . And they were made to pay when Simon Thern left Groningen keeper Sergio Padt helpless with a fine strike on 35 minutes.

Mimoun Mahi almost drew Groningen level and was unfortunate to hit a post after superbly weaving his way through four Heerenveen defenders.

The away side finally got the reward their performance deserved as Tjarron Chery crossed for De Leeuw to hit his thirteenth goal of the season.

But trainer Erwin van de Looi will have been dismayed at the woeful defending that allowed Heerenveen’s Joost van Aken to bundle home from a corner.

Despite losing captain Marten de Roon to two yellow cards on 83 minutes, Heerenveen managed to keep Groningen at bay.

With the visitors pushing for an equaliser, Henk Peersman eventually sealed the win for the Frisian’s deep into injury time on the counter attack.

FC Twente 1 – 2 Vitesse Arnhem: Qazaishvili wins it late for Vitesse

While Twente came into the match on a three game losing streak, Vitesse had won the last four. And thanks to Zakaria Labyad and an injury time winner from Valeri Qazaishvili, it was Peter Bosz’ Vitesse who would continue in their rich vein of form.

However, once Labyad had given the away team the lead, it was Twente that dictated the play. But Luc Castaignos and the otherwise impressive Jesus Corona, both missed chances to level the score.

The diminutive Corona was proving more than a handful for Vitesse and his outstanding performance was repaid with a goal on 82 minutes. Just when it seemed both teams would settle for a point apiece, Qazaishvili pounced to hand Vitesse the spoils.

PSV Eindhoven 3 – 0 FC Dordrecht: No surprises as top beats bottom

The march to the championship continued unabated for PSV as bottom side Dordrecht were dispatched at the Philips Stadion.

The visitors day got off to the worst possible start as Dordrecht’s Jeffrey Fortes beat his own keeper from a Jetro Willems cross after only four minutes.

Runaway leaders PSV dominated throughout but the home support had to wait until the second half to finally see off the Dordrecht challenge.

Luuk de Jong doubled PSV’s lead from the penalty spot before former Chelsea defender, Jeffrey Bruma, made the game safe for the champions elect.

Perhaps the biggest talking point of the afternoon came after Sean Klaiber was denied a goal when his stunning volley rattled the underside of the bar and appeared to bounce over the line.

Dordrecht remain rooted to the bottom of the Eredivisie table while PSV stretch their advantage at the top to fourteen points.

Willem II 1 – 1 Ajax: Champions see remote dream disappear

Any faint hope reigning Eredivisie champions Ajax had of a fifth title in a row were dismissed after a 1-1 draw in Tilburg.  Ajax started brightly and should have gone in front long before Arkaduisz Milik’s late first half deflected shot beat Kostas Lamprou.

Frank de Boer’s side failed to build on the Pole’s opener and, after a woeful error from defender Nick Viergever, Ali Messaoud made no mistake from close range to bring the scores level on 51 minutes.

Anwar El Ghazi twice failed to restore the away teams lead, and the Amsterdammers can count themselves lucky to have come away with a point after Willem II’s Samuel Armenteros inexplicably fired wide with the goal at his mercy.

Feyenoord 3 – 2 Excelsior: Feyenoord reel in ten man Excelsior

Feyenoord turned around a two goal deficit to take the spoils of a hectic Rotterdam derby. Tom van Weert stunned the Kuip into silence after only seven minutes and the 24-year-old striker got on the end of a Jordan Botaka cross to score his and Excelsior’s second on the half hour mark.

Feyenoord, who this week had held Roma to a 1-1 draw in the Italian capital, were fortunate not to go into halftime with a greater deficit. As Botaka and then Daryl van Mieghem both came close to extending Excelsior’s lead.

The turning point of the game hinged on a handball from Excelsior’s Jurgen Mattheij.

After blocking a Colin Kazim Richards effort on the goal line, mattheij left the referee no option but to award a penalty and dismiss the unfortunate defender.

Kazim Richards stepped up to dispatch the spot kick and kick start a Feyenoord comeback. Substitute Jens Toornstra prodded home from a Lex Immers header to level the match on 77 minutes.

And Excelsior’s derby fate was finally sealed three minutes later when Immers headed home a Kazim Richards cross. Feyenoord remain in third place in the table and find themselves just six points behind second placed Ajax.

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