Feyenoord top Eredivisie as AZ left seething over denied penalty

Feyenoord climbed to the top of the Eredivisie after a 2-0 win over AZ Alkmaar took them above their opponents for the first time this season.

Nacho Ferri continued his strong start to the season by putting the Rotterdammers ahead in the 13th minute as he capitalised on a poor defensive header by Wouter Goes.

Fellow Spaniard Javi López scored the second from a corner in the second half to make sure of the points.

Coach Giovanni van Bronkhorst played down the significance of the result, telling NOS: “We have a long way to go and need to keep both feet on the ground.”

AZ were aggrieved that they were denied a penalty just before half-time when Mexx Meerdink appeared to have been brought down by Tjark Ernst.

Meerdink called the decision by referee Danny Makkelie “disgraceful”, but coach Leeroy Echteld refused to linger on the incident. “I’m not interested in being dragged into that kind of story,” he said.

PSV blank

PSV kept their first clean sheet of the season to beat Heerenveen 2-0 in the Friday night game, but the result owed much to the visitors’ wastefulness in front of goal.

Guus Til, playing as a stand-in striker, headed in the first after half an hour after good work by Esmir Bajraktarevic on the right wing, while the second was an own goal by Marcus Linday.

Twente and Fortuna Sittard, two teams enjoying strong starts to the season, shared the points in Enschede. Anthony Descotte headed in an inswinging cross by Mo Ihattaren to give Fortuna the lead in the ninth minute, before Robin Pröpper tapped in the equaliser before half-time.

Ajax stay fifth after they had to settle for a point against NEC Nijmegen. Tjaronn Chery equalised for NEC from the penalty spot after Tolu Arokodare had given the hosts an early lead.

Groningen hit five

Groningen put on a dominant second-half display to win 5-1 at Excelsior, but the turning point came at the end of the first period when Excelsior goalkeeper Stijn van Gessel fumbled a cross by Tika de Jonge into his own net.

Go Ahead Eagles and Sparta shared six goals in Deventer, but only after Sparta’s Andrej Kostic squandered a golden chance for a last-minute winner when he blasted the ball over the crossbar.

Utrecht managed their second win under coach Anthony Correia thanks to two outstanding goals by Yoanne Cathline against Willem II, while a late Nicholas Bindner goal earned Cambuur their first away win of the season at PEC Zwolle.

Telstar played most of their match against ADO Den Haag with an extra man following the dismissal of Milan Hokke in the 13th minute, but still only managed a draw as Tyrone Owusu scored twice.

Results

Friday

PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Heerenveen

Saturday

Ajax 1-1 NEC Nijmegen

Feyenoord 2-0 AZ Alkmaar

Fortuna Sittard 1-1 Twente Enschede

Go Ahead Eagles 3-3 Sparta Rotterdam

Sunday

Excelsior 1-5 Groningen

PEC Zwolle 0-1 Cambuur Leeuwarden

Telstar 2-2 ADO Den Haag

Utrecht 3-1 Willem II Tilburg