Leaders Twente Enschede were at home to Heerenveen. The Fresians have not had the best of seasons and were not expected to form much of an impediment to Steve McLaren’s outfit’s title chances. But it turned into a sloppy and ungainly match where there was not much to choose between the two sides. The first half came and went right out of everyone’s memory after 45 minutes. Steve must have given his budding champs a bit of an earbashing at half-time and it showed in their general commitment. They were finally rewarded after 70 minutes with a goal from Tioté, though the bumsqueaking continued until the last minute when substitute Luuk de Jong coolly slotted home to give Twente a by then deserved 2-0 victory.
VVV's flag
Ajax meanwhile welcomed relegation-haunted VVV Venlo to the ArenA stadium, the fox inviting the hare to dinner. And Ajax’ top Eredivisie scorer Suárez obliged quickly, opening his account with a fine free kick after only a few minutes. Seconds later his shirt was held in the box and Luis doubled his tally. Pantelic made it three on 12 minutes and there was a lengthy 20-minute wait for the fourth from Emanuelson. Five minutes from the break Suárez took advantage of a defensive blunder before rounding the keeper to finish from an acute angle. Further goals from Pantelic and Suárez in the second half made the final damage 7-0. Not really an unexpected result in the scheme of things but a nice addition for the Amsterdammers’ goal difference column and a hat-trick for both Suárez and Pantelic.
Feyenoord travelled to Eindhoven for the top encounter of the weekend with PSV, hoping to gain a few points on them in their quest for an automatic Europa League spot. The opening stages saw both teams fighting for midfield dominance with Feyenoord having arguably the best of the few chances on offer. For much of the second half both teams wasted opportunities in quick succession in an up-and-down affair but again it was PSV who looked the team most likely as their passing game became slicker and they piled on the pressure. Despite a late resurgence from Feyenoord the game petered out into the 12th draw of the season so far for the Rotterdammers and another nail in the coffin for PSV’s title bid.
AZ Alkmaar and Heracles Almelo could not improve on their fifth and sixth spots as both teams could only manage draws away to average opposition. AZ were held 0-0 in Nijmegen as NEC provided tough but unattractive opposition for the Alkmaarders. Meanwhile old hand but new manager of Sparta, Aad de Mos, ended Sparta’s series of five defeats with a 1-1 draw in the Kasteel in Rotterdam with Heracles, both teams doing their scoring soon after the break.
FC Utrecht were at home to ADO The Hague. The Utrecht outfit had not conceded a goal for the last six games so were in confident mood. ADO soon spoiled the mood with a goal after quarter of an hour from Danny Buijs. As Utrecht sputtered, ADO took full advantage and Verhoek added a second just before half-time. The home side struggled to complete a pass in the second period and ADO had no real difficulty keeping them at bay until the final whistle. A fine 0-2 victory for ADO which should go some way to seeing them out of relegation difficulties.
Injury-hit Groningen hosted struggling Willem II from Tilburg in the Euroborg. Despite their missing players, the home team were on the scoreboard after just 46 seconds through Enevoldsen. The Tilburgers had their moments in the quest for the equaliser but just past the 20-minute mark, it was Pedersen who helped Groningen add to their total, and Matavz added a third a few minutes before the break. Willem II missed a great double chance ten minutes after half-time and were double punished as Groningen went up the other end where Bacuna struck home to make the final score 4-0 for the Northerners. At present, they look scheduled to be involved in the Europa League play-offs after the season ends.
Elsewhere, NAC Breda managed a handy home win with a single goal against visitors Roda JC Kerkrade, and bottom club RKC Waalwijk surprised everyone, including themselves, with a dominant 4-1 home win over Vitesse Arnhem. For now it merely postpones the official declaration of their automatic relegation.
Standings
Only three matches to go and Twente are on 80 points, four clear of second placed Ajax. PSV are a further three points behind Ajax. There then follows a 16-point gap to Feyenoord in fourth position, with AZ two behind. The top half of the table is completed by Heracles on 50, Utrecht on 48, Groningen on 45 and NAC on 44. Down below in relegation land RKC remain rooted to the bottom despite a fine win, with Willem II eight points above them. Third and fourth bottom Sparta and ADO need to keep their concentration in the final run-in to avoid the relegation play-offs.
Next week: The climax is fast approaching and during the next week there is an extra round of matches which will be reported on together with next weekend’s games here. Top encounters midweek include Twente away to AZ and Ajax away to Willem II. PSV travel to Heerenveen and Feyenoord are involved in a Rotterdam derby with local rivals Sparta. Next weekend sees Twente face Feyenoord in Enschede while Ajax welcome Heracles. Groningen go to PSV and Willem II host AZ. Should be an interesting week!
Tags: Eredivisie, football
