The Eredivisie returned this past weekend and Steven Davies is on hand with a comprehensive rundown of week nine’s action.

With the second international break of the season having come and gone, the ninth round of matches in the Eredivisie got belatedly underway on Saturday evening at the Stadion Galgenwaard where FC Utrecht, with just one win in the league all season, welcomed Erik ten Hag’s former club, Go Ahead Eagles – who arrived in Utrecht with four points from the last six.

While ten Hag could look back fondly on his lone season in charge in Deventer which culminated in the Eagles gaining promotion via the promotion/relegation playoffs in 2013, there was little room for sentimentality here, with the home side in particular, desperately in need of a win to kick start what has been a faltering campaign thus far for last season’s KNVB Beker finalists.

However, it was the visitors who began the game on the front foot and squandered a host of opportunities before the home side took the lead against the run of play four minutes before the half time interval – Sebastien Haller turning sharply on the edge of the area before unleashing a rasping drive that visiting ‘keeper Theo Zwarthoed could only parry into the path of Giovanni Troupee who managed to get enough on the rebound to send the ball looping into the back of an unguarded net.

Following a slow start to the match, the home side began the second stanza much the brighter thanks to their half time lead and doubled their advantage in the 53^rd minute – Ajax loanee, Richairo Zivkovic, having found himself one on one with Zwarthoed, managed to beat the ‘keeper but not the bar before Rico Strieder tucked away the rebound.

With Hans de Koning’s men forced to throw caution to the wind in order to get back into the contest, it came as little surprise when the home side capitalised – catching the visitors on the counter attack with 25 minutes left to play – Haller finding Zivkovic, who broke the Eagles’ offside trap before slotting the ball past Zwarthoed to seal all three points for the home side.

However, the Eagles did almost grab a consolation via the unlikeliest of sources – Willem Janssen almost putting the ball in his own net when his seemingly innocuous back pass sent home ‘keeper Robbin Ruiter scrambling to clear the ball off his own goal line with nine minutes left to play.

At the same time, honours were left even at Het Kasteel where Sparta Rotterdam and Willem II shared four goals.

A double from Spanish marksman, Fran Sol either side of half time briefly saw the visitors look like recording their first victory in the league since beating Ajax at the Amsterdam ArenA on 20^th August. However, Alex Pastoor’s side, who had lost just one of their last four league games coming into this match, rallied to earn a share of the spoils – Aussie, Craig Goodwin getting the hosts back into the contest with 21 minutes remaining before Thomas Verhaar popped up in the last minute to complete the comeback.

With one eye on a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening, reigning champions, PSV Eindhoven were surprisingly held at home by Heracles – Samuel Armenteros capitalising on some ponderous play in defence by Siem de Jong to steal in and prod the ball past an irate Jeroen Zoet six minutes before half time before the hosts tied up the scores just two minutes later when a vicious header from Luuk de Jong (in his 100^th appearance for PSV) could only be parried by visiting ‘keeper, Bram Castro into the path of Gaston Pereiro – the Uruguayan making no mistake from close range.

With just one loss in their last eleven games in all competitions, in-form AZ Alkmaar welcomed an inconsistent Vitesse Arnhem to the AFAS Stadion on Saturday night.

With two wins and two losses in the league coming into this encounter, Henk Fraser’s men were in need of a good start and they got just that – Chelsea loanee, Lewis Baker putting the visitors ahead on 23 minutes before Ricky van Wolfswinkel doubled the men from Arnhem’s advantage from the penalty spot just before the hour.

However, that inconsistency would rear its ugly head once more – Robert Muhren pulling the home side back into the contest with twelve minutes to go before earning the men from Alkmaar a share of the spoils with his second with three minutes left to play.

With just one loss in their nine competitive matches in all competitions this term, SC Heerenveen are one of the form teams in the country and Jurgen Streppel’s charges continued their winning ways by putting three past fierce local rivals FC Groningen at the Noordlease Stadion on Saturday night.

Arber Zeneli gave the visitors the lead as early as the 7^th minute before the hosts found themselves reduced to ten men when Australian defender, Jason Davidson was given his marching orders by referee, Richard Liesveld nine minutes before half time.

Sam Larsson doubled the visitor’s advantage with 17 minutes left to play before the hosts found their numbers reduced further still – Samir Memisevic receiving a second yellow card from referee, Liesveld just three minutes later.

Iranian international, Reza Ghoochannejhad rubbed salt into the wounds of Groningen’s nine men – making it three with eight minutes left to play.

Sunday’s Eredivisie action began with another pair of local rivals coming head-to-head, this time at De Grolsch Veste in Enschede, where Twente played host to PEC Zwolle.

The hosts came into this encounter unbeaten in their last three league matches and began the brighter – referee, Dennis Higler pointing to the spot when South African midfielder, Kamohelo Mokotjo was brought down in the area by Zwolle centre half, Philippe Sandler with just eight minutes on the clock. Mateusz Klich made no mistake with the resultant penalty kick to put the hosts into the ascendancy.

After a wretched start to the campaign for Ron Jans’ side, things had finally begun to look up following a much needed home victory over ADO Den Haag just prior to the international break and the visitors were back on level terms five minutes before the break – Youness Mokhtar shrugging off the attentions of home centre half, Peet Bijen before cutting in from the left and slotting the ball past Twente glovesman, Nick Marsman.

Shell shocked, Rene Hake’s men rallied in the second stanza and created a host of opportunities which included Enes Unal rattling Mickey van der Hart’s crossbar in the 69^th minute.

However, the Manchester City loanee, would eventually find his breakthrough – the Turk smashing in a first time strike from just inside the area following a perfect ball from fellow Manchester City loanee, Bersant Celina with 13 minutes left on the clock.

At that point, the home side may have felt that the points were safe but the Enschede outfit were stunned for a second time six minutes from time when substitute, Django Warmerdam cut in from the right and unleashed a howitzer from well outside the area that beat the despairing dive of home ‘keeper, Marsman to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.

Roda came into their meeting with Excelsior at the Stadion Woudestein on Sunday afternoon without a win anywhere this term and having not scored a goal since a last gasp equaliser by Tom van Hyfte at the Amsterdam ArenA on 13^th August.

So when Danish midfielder, David Boysen popped up shortly before the hour mark to not only end the goal scoring drought but also ultimately the seemingly eternal search for a victory for the men from Kerkrade in 2016/17, it came as a welcome relief for Yannis Anastasiou’s beleaguered side who climbed off the foot of the table as a result.

League leaders, Feyenoord came into their meeting with NEC Nijmegen having made history as the first side this century to have won their first eight Eredivisie matches and were looking to make it nine in a row ahead of next Sunday’s Klassiker at De Kuip.

However, Peter Hyballa’s charges weren’t about to roll out the welcome mat for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s table topper’s – Mohamed Rayhi hitting Julian van Haacke’s deflected pass first time from the edge of the area to deceive former NEC stopper, Brad Jones and put the hosts into the ascendancy after just eight minutes of play at De Goffertstadion.

The visitors, with one eye not only on the visit of Ajax but also on a UEFA Europa League encounter with Zorya Luhansk at De Kuip on Thursday evening, had to wait until eleven minutes from time to get back on level terms – substitute, Steven Berghuis rattling Joris Delle’s right hand upright before Dirk Kuyt was denied by a combination of both the French ‘keeper and his other post before Nicolai Jorgensen eventually scrambled the ball over the line.

The league leaders weren’t finished and managed to preserve their 100% record in the league a minute into added time – a Berghuis header from the edge of the area falling to goal scorer, Jorgensen whose half volley rebounded off Dalle’s left hand upright and into the path of substitute, Michiel Kramer who secured a ninth successive victory for the Rotterdam giants from close range.

Feyenoord’s last gasp victory in Nijmegen put the pressure on second placed Ajax who in turn responded by dispatching ADO Den Haag with the minimum of fuss at the Kyocera Stadion in the final match of the weekend.

The visitors, who face a tricky trip to Spain to face Celta Vigo in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening, took the lead in the 20^th minute when Lasse Schone teed up skipper, Davy Klaassen with a perfectly weighted chip into the ADO area, which the Dutch international slotted past Lithuanian international ‘keeper, Ernestas Setkus.

De Godenzonen doubled their advantage seven minutes into the second half – Amin Younes escaping the clutches of two men before sliding in a perfectly weighted pass for Chelsea loanee, Bertrand Traore who ensured that Peter Bosz’s men would travel to De Kuip five points adrift of their fierce rivals from Rotterdam.

On the other hand, things are looking dire for Zeljko Petrovic’s men who have now lost their last five league games on the spin – their excellent early season form now a rapidly fading memory.

RESULTS

FC Utrecht 3-0 Go Ahead Eagles

Sparta Rotterdam 2-2 Willem II

PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Heracles

AZ Alkmaar 2-2 Vitesse Arnhem

FC Groningen 0-3 SC Heerenveen

FC Twente 2-2 PEC Zwolle

Excelsior 0-1 Roda JC

NEC Nijmegen 1-2 Feyenoord

ADO Den Haag 0-2 AFC Ajax

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Due to the first round of the KNVB Beker affecting all teams in the top flight of Dutch football during the past week, the seventh round of play in the Eredivisie got belatedly underway on Saturday evening at the Kyocera Stadion in The Hague where ADO Den Haag played host to Heerenveen writes Steven Davies.

Despite contrasting fortunes of late in the league, ADO having lost their last two fixtures while Heerenveen arrived in The Hague on the back of three straight victories, both sides enjoyed cup success in midweek, in spite of both having been taken to extra time – Jurgen Streppel’s men eventually blew away the challenge of second tier upstarts, De Graafschap, while Zeljko Petrovic’s  side were taken to penalties by fellow Eredivisie side, NEC Nijmegen – the men from The Hague eventually prevailing to book their place in the second round of the competition where they will face Eerste Divisie opposition in the form of SC Telstar while Heerenveen will lock horns with another second tier outfit – FC Eindhoven.

Despite the exertions of mid-week the visitors appeared the sharper of the two from the off and took the lead when Wilfried Kanon turned the ball into his own net following a corner from the left with 26 minutes gone in the first half.

The extra effort of that spot kick success over NEC would become more apparent as the game entered the final quarter of an hour and it came as little surprise when the visitors extended their lead through Arber Zeneli with eleven minutes remaining before Henk Veerman received the ball from Sam Larsson on the edge of the area before unleashing a low drive to seal the Friesland outfit’s fifth win on the bounce in all competitions.

Elsewhere, despite both sides having found goals a-plenty as they progressed into the second round from their KNVB Beker ties at the expense of Tweede Divisie outfit, Excelsior Maassluis and fourth tier, VV Capelle respectively, the visit of John Stegeman’s Heracles to Ernest Faber’s, Groningen ended in stalemate with both sides guilty of squandering a multitude of chances in front of goal.

Ajax coach, Peter Bosz had rang the changes for de Godenzonen’s mid-week cup obliteration of Willem II and predictably made just as many again as the Amsterdam giants returned to Eredivisie action when they entertained bottom placed PEC Zwolle on Saturday evening.

The hosts came into this encounter on the back of five straight victories which, despite being somewhat unconvincing at times, had served to silence those who had doubted Bosz’s ability in the wake of his succession of Frank de Boer in the summer.

For the visitors, despite having progressed into the second round of the KNVB Beker in mid-week at the expense of fourth tier outfit, DVS ’33, two points from their opening six games saw the 2014 cup winners enter this match rock bottom with the knowledge that a Ron Jans’ coached team had never won at the Amsterdam ArenA.

With all that being said, it came as a shock when, with only four minutes on the clock, Wout Brama found sufficient time and space at the edge of the home side’s area to unleash a low drive that deceived Andre Onana in the Ajax net and gave Ron Jans’ side the lead.

Yet, any thoughts of unwanted records being broken were quickly dispelled as, just four minutes later, a Hakim Ziyech corner was flicked on by skipper, Davy Klaassen to Columbian centre half, Davinson Sanchez who, having found himself unmarked at the back post, headed the ball past Micky van der Hart in the Zwolle net.

Ajax, who entertains Standard Liège in UEFA Europa League action on Thursday, continued to pile on the pressure throughout the first half and it was another Ziyech corner that provided a perfect ball for Sanchez to head in his and Ajax’s second in the 38^th minute.

Any thoughts of a comeback were dispelled early in the second period when Ziyech found Kasper Dolberg with a pinpoint pass from half way – the Swede slotting the ball past an exposed van der Hart to put the home side three up in the 55^th minute.

Three became four just short of the hour mark as Chelsea loanee, Bertrand Traore cut in from the right (where he looked far more comfortable) and ghosted past two would-be defenders before smashing the ball past the flailing van der Hart.

The home side weren’t finished yet – Dolberg turning Ted van de Pavert inside out before unleashing a blistering strike from the edge of the area which crashed against the underside of the bar and (having been confirmed by goal-line technology) bounced behind the line to round off a dominant display for Peter Bosz’s men.

The first of Saturday evening’s late kick-off’s took place at the AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar where AZ – fresh from a routine cup win at Tweede Divisie outfit, Lienden and with one eye on a UEFA Europa League trip to Russia to face Zenit St. Petersburg on Thursday, entertained Go Ahead Eagles who themselves tasted cup success – beating Derde Divisie side, Dongen 3-1 on Wednesday evening to book their place in the second round of the competition where they will now face fifth tier outfit, Jodan Boys.

The Eagles’ cup success came as a welcome distraction for Hans de Koning’s side who have found the step up from the second tier to be a difficult one – coming into the game with just one win and four points from their opening six games and the visitors endured a difficult first period in Alkmaar – weathering wave upon wave of attacks from their hosts.

But, like their visit to Arnhem a week earlier, a penalty was to be their undoing – Ridgeciano Haps stepping in from the right and surging into the Eagles’ area only to have his progress abruptly ended by Lars Lambooij – Wout Weghorst sending Theo Zwarthoed to wrong way from the resultant spot kick.

The visitors began the brighter in the second half but had the wind taken from their sails when Weghorst latched onto a cross from Iliass Bel Hassani to beat Zwarthoed from close range.

Despite being two goals down away from home to a side who have UEFA Europa League commitments on Thursday evening, the Eagles were actually galvanised by their host’s second – skipper, Sander Duits reducing the arrears with a howitzer from well outside the area on 66 minutes.

And, just when it seemed that the game was over, a Randy Wolters cross from the left found the head of emergency striker, Kenny Teijsse whose header was flapped at by AZ ‘keeper, Sergio Rochet into the path of substitute, Sam Hendriks who gleefully snatched an unlikely point for the visitors from the jaws of defeat with just three minutes remaining.

At the same time, Excelsior played host to reigning Eredivisie champions, PSV Eindhoven – both teams fresh from progressing into the second round of the KNVB Beker, having dispatched Barendrecht and Roda JC respectively in mid-week.

Philip Cocu’s men had a forthcoming trip to Russia on their minds ahead of their UEFA Champions League match with the side that eliminated Ajax from the competition, FC Rostov on Wednesday and arrived in Rotterdam with a point to prove after slipping up to Excelsior’s near neighbours, Feyenoord in last Sunday’s top of the table clash in Eindhoven.

Predictably then, it was the visitors who were out of the blocks the quickest – Luciano Narsingh playing a nice give and go with Bart Ramselaar inside the Excelsior area before poking the ball past Tom Muyters to give the reigning champions the lead on 21 minutes.

What wasn’t on the script was Excelsior grabbing an equaliser just four minutes later – Jetro Willems being harshly adjudged to have brought down Kevin Vermeulen inside the PSV area by referee, Danny Makkelie who immediately pointed to the spot from which Luigi Bruins made no mistake – sending Jeroen Zoet the wrong way.

Yet, the hosts failed to take their visitors into the break on level terms as, in the second minute of added time at the end of the first half, Luuk de Jong won a free kick from Excelsior defender, Jurgen Mattheij and promptly punished the centre half by heading in the resultant free kick from Andres Guardado from close range.

The game was made safe in the 83^rd minute when Davy Propper connected with a Luciano Narsingh cross from the right to force the ball home with a low drive that substitute, Hicham Faik could only turn into his own net on the line.

Sunday’s Eredivisie action got underway with a second stalemate of the weekend – this time coming at the Goffertstadion in Nijmegen where two teams who endured cup exit’s in mid-week at the hands of fellow Eredivisie opposition – NEC and Willem II, cancelled each other out.

Despite having begun the week in disastrous fashion – being hit for five at home by a previously winless Groningen – Erik ten Hag’s FC Utrecht not only managed to find a first win of the season by beating FC Twente in the 1^st round of the KNVB Beker in mid-week but also rounded off the week by recording their first Eredivisie victory of the season by dispatching newly promoted Sparta Rotterdam at the Stadion Galgenwaard.

The hosts got off to a flying start – Richairo Zivkovic netting his fourth goal in three games in all competitions with just three minutes on the clock.

However, despite taking such an early lead it took until the final ten minutes and a smart turn and strike from Nacer Barazite to ensure a first league win at the seventh time of asking for ten Hag’s men.

Elsewhere, the side that were eliminated at the hands of Utrecht in the cup in mid-week – FC Twente got back to winning ways at home to Henk Fraser’s Vitesse Arnhem.

The connection with the blue half of Manchester was evident again as Manchester City loanee, Enes Unal latched on to a pinpoint cross from the left by Dejan Trajkovski to put Rene Hake’s side a goal to the good on 16 minutes with his seventh goal in all competitions before fellow City loanee, Bersant Celina made it two after some good work by first, Jari Oosterwijk and then Chinedu Ede on the left five minutes from time to seal all three points for the hosts – a strike in the first minute of added time from Chelsea loanee, Lewis Baker coming too little too late to salvage anything for the visitors.

The seventh round of play was rounded out at De Kuip in Rotterdam where league leaders, Feyenoord, fresh from a patchy performance on Thursday night as they began their defence of the KNVB Beker with victory over second tier outfit, FC Oss, put their 100% record in all competitions this season on the line against struggling Roda JC who came into this encounter off the back of being knocked out of the cup at the hands of PSV and with just one point from their last four league matches – the visitor’s last goal having been scored by Tom van Hyfte in the 91^st minute of the Kerkrade outfit’s surprise 2-2 draw at the Amsterdam ArenA on 13^th August.

Things would get worse for Yannis Anastasiou’s side after 25 minutes of the first half when a misplaced pass from centre half, Eric Botteghin was mishit by Ard van Peppen into the path of Feyenoord’s Danish marksman, Nicolai Jorgensen, who made no mistake – beating the exposed Roda ‘keeper, Benjamin van Leer from close range for his fifth goal of the season in all competitions.

Given their problems in front of goal, any thoughts the visitors may have harboured of a comeback were dispelled ten minutes before half time when Karim El Ahmadi latched on to a knock down by Jorgensen on the edge of the Roda area and unleashed a shot that took a slight deflection on its way into the back of van Leer’s net.

Feyenoord, who face a tough trip to Turkey to face Dirk Kuyt’s former club, Fenerbahce in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening, heaped more misery on their visitors when centre half, Daryl Werker misplaced a headed clearance into the path of Jens Toornstra who, finding himself one on one with van Leer, unselfishly squared for Jorgensen to tap the ball into an empty net.

However, the hosts were not finished quite yet – a cross from the right from Bilal Basacikoglu finding Toornstra unmarked at the back post, whose sliding volley made it four with two minutes remaining.

A minute into stoppage time the hosts capped off a five star performance with a fifth goal – centre half, Terence Kongolo nodding in a Rick Karsdorp cross from the right to seal all three points for the hosts and ensure that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men would end the seventh week of play five points clear atop the Eredivisie standings.

RESULTS

ADO Den Haag 0-3 SC Heerenveen

FC Groningen 0-0 Heracles

Ajax 5-1 PEC Zwolle

AZ Alkmaar 2-2 Go Ahead Eagles

Excelsior 1-3 PSV Eindhoven

NEC Nijmegen 0-0 Willem II

FC Utrecht 2-0 Sparta Rotterdam

FC Twente 2-1 Vitesse Arnhem

Feyenoord 5-0 Roda JC

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Week five is in the books and Steven Davies is on hand with a description of the action in this weekend’s Eredivisie.

Following the international break, the Eredivisie returned for the fifth week of play and with no Friday fixture thanks to the aforementioned international commitments of many of the league’s top players, the action instead began on Saturday evening at the AFAS Stadion where sixth place, AZ welcomed a resurgent Willem II to Alkmaar.

Things have been looking up of late for the men from Tilburg – Erwin van de Looi’s men having taken four points from a possible six to arrest what had previously been a wretched start to the campaign. However, despite having one eye on their UEFA Europa League meeting with Irish minnows, Dundalk on Thursday, the hosts easily dispatched their visitors – Iranian international, Alireza Jahanbakhsh opening the scoring on 19 minutes with a thunderous half volley from the edge of the area before Levi Garcia capitalised on an errant pass out of the visitor’s defence to seal all three points in the 91^st.

Simultaneously, two of this season’s surprising underachievers came head to head at MAC3PARK Stadion where Ron Jans, PEC Zwolle – with just one point from a possible twelve, met Erik ten Hag’s, FC Utrecht – who themselves were just one point better off coming into this encounter.

Despite having lost their last three games – shipping in eight goals and scoring none in the process, it was the hosts who struck first – Kingsley Ehizibue putting Zwolle ahead with 12 minutes on the clock following a goalmouth scramble.

With the transfer window now closed until January, one of the most remarkable stories appears to be the fact that a transfer once again failed to materialise for Utrecht’s talismanic French striker, Sebastien Haller and the inspirational marksman was on hand once more to salvage a point for the visitors – converting a penalty in the 91^st minute following the dismissal of Feyenoord loanee, Calvin Verdonk who saw red for the hosts after bringing down Giovanni Troupee in the box.

Reigning title holders, PSV Eindhoven prepared up for their upcoming UEFA Champions League encounter with Atletico Madrid by hitting NEC Nijmegen for four at the Goffertstadion – strikes from Bart Ramselaar and Gaston Pereiro saw the visitors two goals up with ten minutes gone before a perfectly placed header from full back, Joshua Brenet and a simple finish for Luuk de Jong after Davy Propper had put the Dutch international in the clear, ended the game as a meaningful contest with just 24 minutes on the clock.

Despite having made a remarkable start to the season – recording two wins from their opening two matches, Mitchell van der Gaag’s, Excelsior came into Saturday night’s encounter with Heracles off the back of two straight defeats and wasted little time dismantling John Stegeman’s visitors at the Stadion Woudestein – Khalid Karami putting the home side ahead with less than a minute on the clock. The visitors were still reeling when Excelsior skipper, Ryan Koolwijk smashed in a cracker from just outside the area to double the home side’s advantage with 19 minutes gone before Fredy Ribeiro cut in from the right and curled in a third from the edge of the area to effectively end the game as any sort of contest with just 22 minutes having elapsed. Vincent Vermeij pulled one back for the visitors on 66 minutes with a close range tap in but his strike failed to galvanise the Almelo outfit who slumped to their second defeat in three matches.

FC Twente began the post-Hakim Ziyech era with defeat in Friesland – going down by three goals to one at the hands of Jurgen Streppel’s, Heerenveen.

Iranian international, Reza Ghoochannejhad opened the scoring for the home side just after the half hour mark with a powerful header before Swede, Sam Larsson doubled the host’s advantage with 66 minutes on the clock with a neat side-footed finish from the edge of the area. The score line was perhaps a little harsh on Rene Hake’s men who had threatened Erwin Mulder’s goal on numerous occasions and the visitors eventually found their way back into the game through a strike from Manchester City loanee, Bersant Celina with twelve minutes to go.

However, the dismissal of Hidde ter Avest – who saw red from referee, Jochem Kamphuis after receiving his second yellow card of the match in the 90^th minute for a reckless two footed lunge, dispelled any hopes the men from Enschede had of taking anything from their visit to the Abe Lenstra Stadion and Ghoochannejhad sealed all three points for the hosts in the second minute of added time with his third goal of the season.

Sunday’s Eredivisie action began with an intriguing contest at De Kuip where two unbeaten sides came face to face. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s, Feyenoord came into the fifth round of matches off the back of four straight victories and with one eye on a mouth-watering UEFA Europa League encounter with Manchester United on Thursday, while Zeljko Petrovic’s, ADO Den Haag arrived in Rotterdam with an unbeaten record of their own to defend.

Having squandered a slew of chances to open the scoring the home side finally made the break through just after the half hour mark as Feyenoord landed a swift one-two punch that left their visitors from The Hague reeling – Dirk Kuyt opening the scoring on 33 minutes at the second time of asking after ADO ‘keeper, Ernestas Setkus had denied his initial effort before a neat through ball from Jens Toornstra found Danish marksman, Nicolai Jorgensen who beat the visitor’s offside trap to double the Rotterdam giant’s advantage just a minute later with his third goal of the season.

Substitute, Ludcinio Marengo did briefly bring the visitors back into the game with four minutes remaining – volleying the ball past Feyenoord glovesman, Brad Jones after the Australian stopper had denied his initial header from point blank range, but any thoughts ADO’s travelling band of supporters may have harboured of their side stealing a point were quickly dashed when Karim El Ahmadi added a third in the third minute of stoppage time to put van Bronckhorst’s side two points clear atop the Eredivisie standings to leave things perfectly poised ahead of a top of the table clash with PSV in Eindhoven next Sunday.

Despite having collected their first point of the season at the fourth time of asking just prior to the international break, Groningen welcomed newly promoted Sparta Rotterdam to the Noordlease Stadion propping up the table and Ernest Faber’s men set about this crunch game with an air of purpose early on – Mimoun Mahi giving the hosts the lead with just 12 minutes on the clock.

However, Alex Pastoor’s side have been somewhat of a surprise package this season and came into this game five points better off than their more illustrious hosts, favouring an open and attacking brand of football that has won many plaudits since their return to the top table of Dutch football and, given the unease both on and off the field for all associated with Groningen, it was little surprise when the visitors drew level through Ajax loanee, Zakaria El Azzouzi – who finished a swift Sparta counter attack just eight minutes later to leave honours even.

While the draw lifts Groningen off the bottom of the table at the expense of PEC Zwolle on goal difference, it does little to alleviate the mounting pressure on the shoulders of Groningen’s under-fire coach, Ernest Faber whose side now face a crucial trip to another club in search of their first victory of the season – FC Utrecht, on Friday.

At the same time, a club in a similar plight – newly promoted Go Ahead Eagles, welcomed Roda JC to De Adelaarshorst in search of their first win since returning to the Dutch top flight at the fifth time of asking.

The home side enjoyed a busy week of transfer activity prior to the international break – the most significant addition being the return of Jarchinio Antonia who made his re-debut for the Eagles after having his contract at Groningen terminated.

Despite having been competitive in each of their four Eredivisie matches thus far, a lack of pace at the back and killer instinct in front of goal have cost Hans de Koning’s side time and time again and both of these shortcomings were once again in evidence on Sunday afternoon, but when Welshman, Simon Church was adjudged to have handled a goal-bound header from Sander Duits following a Marcel Ritzmaier cross from the right, the home side must have felt like history was repeating itself when referee, Ed Janssen pointed to the spot. Yet, following his high profile miss from the spot against Ajax prior to the international break, last season’s goal machine, Leon de Kogel – who hit the back of the net on 27 occasions last season but has yet to do so at Eredivisie level for the Eagles, stepped aside allowing Kevin Brands to send Roda ‘keeper, Benjamin van Leer the wrong way and put the home side one nil up.

The game was played in an open manner and chances came and went at both ends of the field until substitute, Darren Maatsen, killed a length of the field clearance by home ‘keeper, Theo Zwarthoed stone dead at the edge of the Roda area before flashing the ball past a flailing van Leer to secure the home side’s first win since their return to the Eredvisie.

The fifth round of Eredivisie action was concluded at the Amsterdam ArenA where Ajax, who came into their encounter with Vitesse Arnhem without a home victory in 2016/17, gave a debut to big money signing, Hakim Ziyech in the hope of kick-starting their title challenge following an unconvincing opening to the Peter Bosz era in Amsterdam.

The hosts, who will make the long trip to Greece for a UEFA Europa League encounter with Panathinaikos on Thursday, began the game brightly – peppering Eloy Room’s goal with attempts that had the Vitesse ‘keeper at full stretch on a number of occasions.

But it wasn’t until the 55^th minute that the deadlock was broken. Having been awarded a free kick on the left following a foul on skipper, Davy Klaassen, Moroccan international, Ziyech promptly flashed a tantalising ball across the face of goal for a diving Nick Viergever to head past Eloy Room from close range and give de Godenzonen what, in the end, proved to be the only goal of the game and any hopes that Henk Fraser’s side had of taking something from a contest in which they had enjoyed their fair share of opportunities were effectively extinguished when Arnold Kruiswijk received his marching orders after collecting his second yellow card of the match in the 67^th minute following a reckless challenge on Joel Veltman.

RESULTS

AZ Alkmaar 2-0 Willem II

PEC Zwolle 1-1 FC Utrecht

NEC Nijmegen 0-4 PSV Eindhoven

Excelsior 3-1 Heracles

 SC Heerenveen 3-1 FC Twente

Feyenoord 3-1 ADO Den Haag

FC Groningen 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam

Go Ahead Eagles 2-0 Roda JC Kerkrade

AFC Ajax 1-0 Vitesse Arnhem

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In a weekend where PSV suffered a slight setback and Ajax bounced back, Steven Davies is on hand to describe all the action from round four of Eredivisie season.

This weekend got underway on Friday night at the GelreDome in Arnhem where two sides with contrasting starts to the season went head to head.

Last season’s recipient of the Rinus Michels Award – an honour which recognises the Coach of the Year in the Netherlands – Erik ten Hag, has seen his Utrecht side emulate the sort of performances that landed him the prestigious award during the opening three weeks of the season but lack the points haul to go with them – having only posted a single point from a possible nine thus far.

By sharp contrast, new Vitesse coach, Henk Fraser’s side have hit the ground running in 2016/17 – recording six points from a possible nine and it came as little surprise when the Arnhem based outfit hit the front shortly before the half hour mark through Ricky van Wolfswinkel – the 27-year-old finding an abundance of time and space inside the Utrecht box to latch onto a square ball from Milot Rashica and notch his third goal in four games since returning to the club where his career began.

Having been second best for the majority of the first period, the Utrecht players began the second stanza on the front foot and found a way back into the contest on 68 minutes when a shot from just outside the area was parried by Vitesse stopper, Eloi Room only for the ball to fall perfectly for Giovanni Troupee whose lofted cross across the face of the home side’s goal was met by the head of Utrecht’s talismanic forward, Sebastien Haller – the Frenchman making no mistake from close range to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.

Saturday’s Eredivisie action began in Tilburg with a stalemate at the Koning Willem II Stadion where Erwin van de Looi’s, Willem II arrived at their meeting with draw specialists Roda JC off the back of a famous away win at the Amsterdam ArenA  but failed to repeat the feat in front of their own fans.

A lone strike by Swede, Sam Larsson was enough to secure all three points for Heerenveen against struggling PEC Zwolle at the Abe Lenstra Stadion and in the process record the first victory of the Jurgen Streppel era in Friesland.

Meanwhile, things continue to look grim for Ron Jans and his men, who not only fell to their third straight defeat of the season but also to the bottom of the Eredivisie standings.

By sharp contrast, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s, Feyenoord entered Saturday evening’s Rotterdam derby with Excelsior with a perfect nine points from nine from the opening three weeks of the season, sparking hopes of a first Eredvisie crown since Leo Beenhakker guided the Rotterdam giants to the league title in 1999.

Yet, in the intervening years since that success, Feyenoord have tended to falter when the business end of the season rolls around so there will have been more than a few supporters who will not have been surprised when, against the run of play, Stanley Elbers latched on to a square ball from Nigel Hasselbaink to slot past Aussie ‘keeper, Brad Jones and put Mitchell van der Gaag’s men one nil up and silence the majority of the 47,000 crowd at De Kuip with 26 minutes on the clock.

It is fair to say that, at 36 years of age, Feyenoord skipper Dirk Kuyt has enjoyed somewhat of an Indian summer in terms of goal scoring since his return to De Kuip at the beginning of last season. Kuyt, who netted an impressive 23 times in his first season back in Rotterdam, was instrumental in steadying the ship when the team, having started 2015/16 promisingly, hit choppy waters around the turn of the year and embarked on a wretched run of defeats which derailed the club’s early season title ambitions by the end of January but didn’t see the club finish the season without silverware – having collected the KNVB Beker with a win over FC Utrecht in April and the former Dutch international was on hand once again when, after latching onto a flick by Danish target man, Nicolai Jorgensen, Kuyt unleashed a sweet half volley to drag Feyenoord back on level terms just before the half time interval.

Then, Just before the hour mark, Kuyt was at it again – this time killing a long diagonal pass from sub, Jan-Arie van der Heijden stone dead on his chest at the top of the Excelsior box before stroking the ball past Tom Muyters to put the hosts into the ascendancy .

Two minutes later, Steven Berghuis made it three when, after receiving the ball just inside the Excelsior area from Karim El Ahmadi, the Watford loanee curled a well-placed finish into the top right hand corner of Muyter’s net.

The hosts rounded out what, in the end, was a comfortable victory when Jens Toornstra intercepted a poorly weighted back pass before rounding the ‘keeper to make it four with 65 minutes on the clock – securing the home side’s fourth straight win of the season and their place at the summit of the Eredivisie standings.

The late kick off came at De Grolsch Veste in Enschede where Rene Hake’s Twente, having been written off by many just a couple of weeks ago after staving off both bankruptcy and demotion over the summer months, recorded their second victory in as many games – dispatching newly promoted Sparta Rotterdam 3-1.

It what could well be his final game in front of the Enschede faithful, talismanic playmaker, Hakim Ziyech opened the scoring for the home side just before the quarter hour before Yaw Yeboah doubled the home side’s advantage with a spectacular strike from just outside the area on 36 minutes.

Yet the visitors from Rotterdam came into this game on a run of two successive victories and Alex Pastoor’s men rattled the fragile confidence of the home side when Twente glovesman, Nick Marsman brought down Aussie, Craig Goodwin resulting in referee, Reinold Wiedemeijer pointing to the spot from which Belgian marksman, Loris Brogno made no mistake – netting his fourth goal in as many games.

However, the final word fittingly went to Ziyech who, having turned in a man of the match display, sealed the home side’s second win in as many weeks just before the hour mark when, having intercepted a wayward pass out of the Sparta defence, the in-demand Moroccan international, nipped behind the visitor’s backline and slotted the ball past Roy Kortsmit before later departing to a hero’s reception from the adoring home crowd when he was replaced by Tim Holscher in the first minute of stoppage time.

Sunday’s Eredivisie action began at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven where reigning champions, PSV were surprisingly held to a goalless draw by Ernest Faber’s struggling Groningen who arrived in Eindhoven without a point to their name. The result ensured that Feyenoord would sit two points clear at the top of the Eredivisie standings after the fourth weekend of action and was made all the more remarkable given the fact that the visitors were forced to play with ten men for a vast portion of the match after 19-year-old defensive midfielder, Juninho Bacuna was sent off for his second bookable offence with 32 minutes on the clock. The best opportunity in an extremely one-sided affair came when the hosts received a penalty after Luciano Narsingh was brought down in the Groningen area shortly before the half time break. However, the normally reliable Luuk de Jong saw his spot kick saved by Groningen glovesman, Sergio Padt.

Like PSV, Zeljko Petrovic’s surprise package, ADO Den Haag came into their meeting with Heracles having collected three wins from the opening three matches of the season. Yet they would be denied a fourth successive victory by John Stegeman’s side who took the lead at the Kyocera Stadion through German defender, Robin Gosens with 18 minutes on the clock – thanks in no small part to the poor handling of ADO ‘keeper, Ernestas Setkus.

In season’s gone by this was the sort of result that ADO have been prone to let slip entirely, yet their encouraging start to the 2016/17 campaign has seen newfound resilience and belief take root on both the pitch and in the stands and, while they could not make it four wins from four outings, the home side did manage to level the score when,  shortly before the half hour mark, Japanese international striker, Mike Havenaar buried a well taken left footed strike on the run after latching onto a Gervane Kastaneer flick on.

All eyes turned to De Adelaarshorst on Sunday lunchtime where under fire Peter Bosz brought his struggling Ajax side to face newly promoted, Go Ahead Eagles.

After enduring a tumultuous week that began with a defeat at home to Willem II followed by a humiliating exit from the final qualifying phase of the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Russian under dogs, FC Rostov, many saw the trip to Deventer as another potential banana skin for de Godenzonen who, having seen Dutch interntional ‘keeper Jasper Cillessen depart for Barcelona handed Cameroonian, Andre Onana only his second taste of first team action – the 20-yearold stopper’s inclusion being one of numerous changes to a backline that had been torn to shreds in midweek.

In front of a vociferous home crowd, Hans de Koning’s Eagles began on the front foot and with twenty minutes on the clock Columbian defender, Davinson Sanchez appeared to clip the heels of PSV loanee, Marcel Ritzmaier as the Austrian midfielder scampered into the Ajax area leaving referee, Pol van Boekel little option but to point to the spot.

Like his team mates, last season’s goal machine, Leon de Kogel has struggled to repeat the sort of prowess in front of goal that saw the 24-year-old marksman bag 27 goals as he fired the Eagles to promotion via the promotion/ relegation playoffs last term and the striker’s lack of confidence was in evidence here as he saw his spot kick saved by Onana – an event that ultimately proved to be the turning point of the game.

Having seemingly got out of jail thanks to Onana’s heroics, the visitors took the game by the scruff of the neck – Ajax’s inspirational skipper, Davy Klaassen giving Peter Bosz’s side the lead when his shot from just outside the area took a nick off the heels of Sander Fischer to deceive Theo Zwarthoed in the home net just minutes later.

Chelsea loanee, Bertrand Traore was one of the only players in an Ajax shirt to emerge from the midweek trip to Russia with a performance to be proud of and the mercurial Burkina Faso international gave left back, Kenny Teijsse a torrid time throughout the contest – his trickery winning the visitors a penalty from which Klaassen made no mistake to double de Godenzonen’s advantage heading into the half time interval.

The game was effectively over just after the hour mark when Nemanja Gudelj floated a perfectly placed free kick over the home side’s wall to leave Zwarthoed once more rooted to the spot and, in the process, earn Peter Bosz a stay of execution heading into the international break.

The fourth round of Eredivisie action was concluded at the AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar where AZ dispatched ten-man NEC Nijmegen by two goals to nil. John van den Brom’s side took the lead just before the half time interval through a diving header by 20-year-old attacking midfielder, Dabney dos Santos and things went from bad to worse for Peter Hyballa’s men when German midfielder, Julian von Haacke received a second yellow card from referee, Kevin Blom with more than half an hour still to play before Iranian international, Alireza Jahanbakhsh put the undermanned visitors out of their misery following a swift AZ counter attack with 17 minutes remaining.

RESULTS

Vitesse Arnhem 1-1 FC Utrecht

Willem II 0-0 Roda JC

SC Heerenveen 1-0 PEC Zwolle

Feyenoord 4-1 Excelsior

FC Twente 3-1 Sparta Rotterdam

PSV Eindhoven 0-0 Groningen

ADO Den Haag 1-1 Heracles

Go Ahead Eagles 0-3 AFC Ajax

AZ Alkmaar 2-0 NEC Nijmegen 

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