Ajax and PSV claim crucial wins, Feyenoord see off Twente, while cup finalists Utrecht move into fourth place in the Eredivisie table, writes Neil Adderley.

PEC Zwolle 3 v 1 Roda JC: Zwolle remain in play­off hunt

PEC overturned a one goal deficit to run out comfortable winners in Zwolle.

Despite a Marcos Gullon header giving Roda a deserved first half lead, the visitors succumbed to a strong second half performance from Ron Jans’ team.

Queensy Menig brought the sides level on 49 minutes before Ouasim Bouy converted the first of a double to hand all the points to the home side.

Excelsior 1 v 3 Heracles Almelo: Excelsior troubles deepen with home defeat

A Wout Weghorst brace and a Ramon Zomer header gave Heracles victory and left Excelsior in the relegation zone and fighting for Eredivisie survival.

A dominant Heracles opened the scoring after only six minutes as Weghorst lifted the ball over Excelsior keeper Tom Muyters.

And the big striker doubled the advantage when rifling home on 37 minutes.

Excelsior pulled a goal back through Brandley Kuwas just after the break, but Zomer headed home a 62nd minute Navratil cross to dent any hopes of an Excelsior comeback.

Cambuur Leeuwarden 0 v 1 Ajax: Leaders squeeze past Cambuur

A solitary Davy Klaassen goal was enough to keep league leaders Ajax on course for the Eredivisie title.

Ajax controlled the game throughout, however Frank de Boer’s men struggled to break down a resolute Cambuur defence.

The second half introduction of Anwar el Ghazi proved to be the turning point as the winger’s 60th minute cross was met at the far post by Klaassen.

The visitors failed to convert a number of chances but despite a nervy final few minutes De Boer’s men held on to claim a vital victory.

Vitesse Arnhem 2 v 2 ADO Den Haag: Late equaliser denies ADO victory in Arnhem

An injury time goal from Denys Oliynyk rescued a point for Vitesse in Arnhem.

Ex­Vitesse target man Mike Havenaar gave ADO a seventh minute lead, before Guram Kashia levelled matters on 35 minutes.

Vitesse, seeking to avoid a third consecutive home defeat, fell behind for a second time as the unfortunate Maikel van der Werff put through his own goal on the hour mark.

However, Oliynyk fired home for the hosts in injury time to deny ADO and rescue a point for the hosts.

PSV Eindhoven 2 v 0 Willem II: Ten man PSV keep the heat on Ajax

PSV’s hopes of pressuring league leaders Ajax seemed to be fading when, with the game locked at 0­0, Santiago Arias was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

However, despite the numerical disadvantage the reigning champions took the game to Willem II, and were rewarded when Marco van Ginkel broke the deadlock on 68 minutes.

And when Hector Moreno was brought down in the box, Luuk de Jong made no mistake from 12 yards.

The win leaves PSV two points behind leaders Ajax with four games left to play.

Heerenveen 4 v 2 AZ Alkmaar: Hosts put on a show for home supporters

Outgoing Heerenveen trainer Foppe de Haan had demanded his side should play entertaining football and the Frisians put on an excellent display against in­form AZ.

Seeking a first home win since January, the hosts went in front when AZ defender Ron Vlaar deflected a Stefan Marzo cross into his own net.

The Frisians should have been out of sight before the break as Jerry st Juste, Arbar Zeneli and Mitchell Te Vrede failed to convert excellent chances.

It was left to captain Joey van den Berg to double the lead with a powerful shot in the opening period of the second half.

Substitute Dabney Dos Santos halved the deficit for AZ on 78 minutes, but Heerenveen continued to push forward with young star Zeneli restoring the two goal advantage just six minutes later.

Luciano Slagveer quickly put the result beyond doubt for De Haan’s men, and despite a late consolation goal from Vincent Janssen, Heerenveen claimed the long awaited home win.

Groningen 3 v 1 De Graafschap: Back­to­back wins for Groningen

Despite going a goal behind Groningen made it two wins in two games after halting a run of six consecutive defeats away to ADO last weekend.

It seemed Cas Peters had given the struggling visitors a first half advantage, but Rasmus Lindgren netted his second free kick in as many weeks before the break.

And the hosts grabbed the lead in fortunate fashion as a Hedwiges Maduro header rebounded off the bar and onto De Graafschap keeper Hidde Jurjus and into the net.

Groningen quickly sealed the victory on 80 minutes as Oussama Idrissi burst into the box before finishing smartly past Jurjus.

Utrecht 3 v 1 NEC Nijmegen: Cup finalists Utrecht move into fourth place with convincing win

A season to remember continued for Utrecht with a routine victory over NEC.

Striker Ruud Boymans gave the hosts a perfect start, scrambling home a fourth minute opener.

NEC levelled matters just before the break when full back Todd Kane rifled home from the edge of the box.

But the home side responded in the second period through Nacer Barazite who powered home a 70th minute header, before the substitute setup Sebastian Haller three minutes later.

The win moves cup finalists Utrecht above AZ and into fourth place in the table.

Twente 0 v 1 Feyenoord: Kramer fires Feyenoord past Twente

A 12th minute Michiel Kramer goal gave Feyenoord a sixth consecutive win and leaves the Rotterdammers six points clear in the race for an automatic Europa League place.

Twente talisman Hakim Ziyech was once again the hosts main threat, and it took a flying Kenneth Vermeer save to deny the exciting attacking midfielder.

Feyenoord came close to doubling the lead through Dirk Kuyt and Kramer, before Eljero Elia was denied by the underside of the crossbar.

The visitors were relieved to see what seemed a nailed on penalty appeal waved away, as Ziyech was brought down in the box by Miquel Nelom.

But Feyenoord held on to claim all the points and virtually seal a third placed Eredivisie finish.