NEC 1-1 Twente

The Enschede side started the match the better side of the two and Austrian youngster Marko Arnautovic gifted Twente the lead halfway the first half when he successfully deflected Kenneth Perez’s shot past the NEC goalie. Eljero Elia thought to score the 2-0 after the break, but the winger’s goal was disallowed for offside. Former Ajax youngster John Goossens leveled both sides after 78 minutes with a powerful long range drive before Youssef el Akchaoui received his marching orders in the dying minutes of the match.

Utrecht 0-1 Groningen

The hosts dominated the match from the beginning, but failed to open the score due to some excellent saves of Groningen goalie Luciano. Simon Cziommer and Loic Loval both came close to scoring the opener, but it was Groningen midfielder Evgeniy Levchenko who eventually scored the only goal of the match with a shot in the top corner from the edge of the area.

AZ 4-1 ADO Den Haag

ADO surprisingly grabbed the lead five minutes before the half time whistle via Christian Kum. The strong centre back headed the ball past Joey Didulica with a superb effort. AZ weren’t impressed too much and Moussa Dembele scored the 1-1 after 50 minutes with a low shot at the near post. Belgian playmaker Maarten Martens gifted his side the lead around the hour mark after a good pass from Mounir el Hamdaoui and the latter scored AZ’s third of the evening with ten more minutes to go. Substitute Nick van der Velden made things even worse for ADO in the 83rd minute to secure the Alkmaar side’s victory.

Heracles 1-1 Heerenveen

Heerenveen caused the home side all kinds of trouble in the first half and Kristian Bak Nielsen scored the 1-0 after 15 minutes of play with a smart header in the far corner. Heracles didn’t give up though and Everton should have equalized after the break. However, he hesitated too long and squandered the chance. Midfielder Mark Jan Fledderus did level both sides ten minutes before the final whistle with a good free kick.

Sparta 0-2 PSV

The Rotterdam side played quite a good match, but PSV opened the score after about fourty minutes. Ibrahim Afellay set up Balasz Dszudszak, who cut inside before unleashing a ferocious drive in the top corner. Rydell Poepon came close to leveling both sides only minutes later, but PSV shot stopper Andreas Isaksson pulled off a superb save to deny the Sparta striker. Swedish forward Ola Toivonen was reached on the counter attack and the new signing kept his cool and doubled PSV’s lead. Poepon almost pegged one back after the break, but his header came off the bar.

Roda 1-2 Ajax

The Amsterdam giants started the match brilliantly and Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez scored the opener after only two minutes. Roda goalie Bram Castro never stood a chance against his excellent shot. Right back Kris de Wree could have equalized, but the Belgian defender failed to add his name to the score sheet. Young midfielder Ismail Aissati doubled the lead for Ajax with his first league goal ever for the Amsterdam side. Roda did their utmost to fight back and Ivorian attacker Sekou Cisse pegged one back halfway the second half. The Kerkrade outfit were unable to score the 2-2 though and Ajax went home with the full three points.

Vitesse 0-0 De Graafschap

Not too much to report about from Arnhem. Lasse Nilsson could have scored for the Arnhem side, while Joep van den Ouweland came close to scoring for De Graafschap. However, both goalies kept a clean sheet in a far from entertaining match.

Volendam 2-1 Feyenoord

The guests started the match the better side of the two and experienced striker Roy Makaay gifted his side the lead after a howler from the Volendam goalie. Feyenoord kept on dominating, but failed to score a second goal. Volendam took over the initiative and tricky attacker Dominique van Dijk scored the 1-1 around the hour mark. Feyenoord were unable to create any serious chances and once again Van Dijk helped the home side to the victory with his second goal of the match after 83 minutes.

Willem II 2-0 NAC

Willem II defender Frank Swinkels should have gifted his side the lead halfway the second half, but he aimed too high and fired a spot kick over the bar. NAC midfielder Donny Gorter was sent off for the action and Willem II took advantage of their man extra on the pitch after the break. The NAC goalie was unable to hold on Said Boutahar’s shot and Sergio Zijler tapped home from close range in the rebound. Swedish striker George Mourad decided the match five minutes before full time after beating the offside trap.