NEC Nijmegen bagged a valuable point in Amsterdam to maintain their narrow advantage in the battle for third place in the Eredivisie.

Ajax went ahead late in a first half in which NEC were the better side, but were punished for a defensive lapse by Kodai Sano that allowed Mika Godts to dribble into the penalty area and score from close range.

The visitors’ enterprise was rewarded in unorthodox fashion in the 57th minute when Darko Nejasmic saw his volley from a corner blocked but was able to turn in the rebound while lying on the ground.

Leaders PSV found themselves 1-0 down at home to Heerenveen after their defeat the previous weekend by Voldendam, but turned the match around in the second half as Ricardo Pepi came off the bench to score.

Lasse Nordas pounced on some sloppy defending by Jerdy Schouten to give Heerenveen the lead in the 21st minute.

Ivan Perisic equalised on the stroke of half-time when his cross from the left flank drifted in before Myron Boadu, making a rare appearance in the starting line-up for PSV, turned in a cross from Paul Wanner four minutes after the restart.

Pepi came on for the last 15 minutes, having recovered from a broken arm sustained six weeks ago, and had a goal disallowed for offside within minutes. But the American was not to be denied as he scored PSV’s third with a curling shot from outside the penalty area in the 88th minute.

Go Ahead Eagles eased their relegation fears with a 4-0 win against Heracles that keeps their opponents at the foot of the table. Three of the goals came in a 15-minute spell in the second half, after Søren Tengstedt had opened the scoring with a deflected shot.

NAC beat Volendam, conquerers of PSV last weekend, with a late goal by 17-year-old striker Pepijn Reulen in his eighth league match to haul themselves within two points of their rivals, who occupy the all-important 15th spot.

Fortuna Sittard pulled away from the drop zone as a penalty by Mohammed Ihattaren and a header from a corner by Kaj Sierhuis were enough to take all three points against Excelsior, who slip to 14th place.

AZ go fifth

AZ recovered from their midweek defeat by Armenian side FC Noah to beat Sparta 3-1, a result that lifts them above the Rotterdam club into fifth place. All four goals came in the last 25 minutes, with Troy Parrott receiving a booking for taking his shirt off to celebrate his 13th goal of the season in the final minute.

Groningen’s slump in form continued as they succumbed to a fifth successive league defeat at Twente, despite taking a first-half lead when Marvin Peersman headed in from a corner.

The scores were level within four minutes when Daan Rots beat goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen to a through ball and steered the ball into the empty net from a narrow angle, before Kristian Hlynsson took advantage of a mistake by Peersman to score the winner.

Utrecht and PEC shared the points as Angel Alarcón gave the home side an early lead and had a chance to secure the points in the second half when he was clear through on goal, but was unable to find a way past Tom de Graaf. PEC equalised a minute later with a tap-in by Thijs Oosting.

Results

Friday

Fortuna Sittard 2-1 Excelsior

Saturday

Ajax 1-1 NEC Nijmegen

NAC Breda 1-0 Volendam

PSV Eindhoven 3-1 Heerenveen

Sunday

AZ Alkmaar 3-1 Sparta Rotterdam

Feyenoord L-L Telstar

Go Ahead Eagles 4-0 Heracles Almelo

Twente Enschede 2-1 Groningen

Utrecht 1-1 PEC Zwolle