Feyenoord ground out a 1-0 win at Groningen to maintain their three-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie on a weekend when the top three contenders struggled to impose themselves.

Ayase Ueda scored the only goal for Feyenoord with a flying header early in the second half, after Etienne Vaessen had denied the Japanese striker with an outstretched left arm before the break.

PSV also had to work hard for their three points at Excelsior, who struck first in the 13th minute when Szymon Wlodarczyk tapped in from a long throw.

Joey Veerman fired a free-kick into the top corner to level the scores six minutes later, but the winning goal came deep in the second half when Dennis Man broke away down the right-hand side and found Ismael Saibari unmarked in front of an empty net.

Peter Bosz’s main concern was an injury to Ricardo Pepi that forced the American striker to leave the field in the 32nd minute.

Bosz: “Taking no chances”

Bosz said he was taking no chances with Pepi, who recently returned from an eight-month absence with a knee injury, especially with his other strikers Myron Boadu and Alassane Pléa on the sidelines. “He’s our only striker at the moment and is coming back from a serious injury,” the coach said.

Ajax rode their luck to book a 2-1 win at home to NAC Breda. Oscar Gloukh gave the Amsterdammers a fourth-minute lead with a neat finish, but Sydney van Hooijdonk levelled from the penalty spot following Owen Wijndal’s handball.

Kenneth Taylor’s winner was shrouded in controversy, as Mika Godts appeared to be blocking the view of a defender on the line, but after reviewing the video replay referee Marc Nagtegaal decided to award the goal.

Telstar landmark

Telstar won their first home league match of the season to add to Go Ahead Eagles’ misery, after the Deventer club lost in Europe in midweek.

Telstar were heading into the half-time break with a 2-0 lead with goals from Kay Tejan and Nils Rossen, but just before the whistle Tejan deflected a shot into his own net to hand Go Ahead a lifeline.

Jochem Rittmeester van de Kamp restored the advantage with a well-placed shot in the 71st minute, and although Milan Smit replied almost immediately, Telstar made sure of the points when Soufiane Hetli scored on the counter in injury time.

Utrecht narrowly avoided defeat at home to Heerenveen when David Min scrambled in a goal from a corner in the 89th minute, after Bernt Klaverboer had been punished under the new rule requiring goalkeepers to release the ball within eight seconds.

Earlier Dylan Vente had scored twice for Heerenveen to turn the match around after Souffian El Karouani had given Utrecht the lead with a shot from a tight angle.

NEC ended AZ’s unbeaten start to the season as a calm takedown and finish by Basar Önal and a close-range header by captain Dirk Proper allowed the Nijmegen club to move above their opponents into fourth place.

Heracles relief

Twente made it two wins out of two under new coach John van den Brom, as a penalty by Ricky van Wolfswinkel, a glancing shot by Bart van Rooij and a long-range daisycutter from Thomas van den Belt were just enough to see off Fortuna Sittard.

Volendam picked up their first win of the campaign as Henk Veerman volleyed in from close range and Brandley Kuwas tapped home a low cross by Robin van Cruijsen to beat PEC Zwolle.

Heracles’ run of six straight defeats came to an end as Jizz Hoornkamp scored twice in a 3-0 defeat of Sparta, but remain three points adrift of Excelsior at the bottom of the table.

Results

Friday

Twente Enschede 3-2 Fortuna Sittard

Saturday

Ajax 2-1 NAC Breda

Excelsior 1-2 PSV Eindhoven

Heracles 3-0 Sparta Rotterdam

Volendam 2-1 PEC Zwolle

Sunday

Groningen 0-1 Feyenoord

NEC Nijmegen 2-1 AZ Alkmaar

Telstar 4-2 Go Ahead Eagles

Utrecht 2-2 Heerenveen