Last weekend’s Eredivisie fixture list promised to be a big one with four of the top five sides in action against one another. Pace-setters PSV travelled to Ajax and FC Twente continued their hunt to regain top spot when they hosted AZ Alkmaar.
50,000 fans were packed in to a sold out Amsterdam Arena on Saturday evening to watch the mouth-watering prospect of first versus third as Ajax hosted PSV. Martin Jol’s men would have been excused for a restrained approach, as they faced the daunting prospect of a Champion’s League visit from Real Madrid in mid-week, but they showed early on that this was the last thing on their minds as they threatened to take away PSV’s (so far) unbeaten record on the road this season.
Joint top-scorer El Hamdaoui threatened Isaksson’s goal in the opening stages along with fellow striker Luis Suarez, but neither could break the deadlock. Meanwhile PSV matched them as Bouma, Dzsudzsak and Toivonen tested Stekelenburg in an eventful but goalless first half.
Marcelo started the second half similarly to how the first had ended by forcing Vurnon Alita to make an impressive goal-line clearance, preventing Ajax from falling behind. Both keepers continued to be tested but neither looked like they were going to be beaten. Isaksson made a string of saves against Suarez, including an impressive strike from the Uruguayan’s own half that looked to be going in if it hadn't been for the visiting keeper’s heroics.
The home side were left to play injury time with only ten men after Lindgren saw red for a foul on Ibrahim Afellay, but it proved too late for PSV to capitalise on as the match ended 0-0. A great point for Ajax however was tainted after the game when footage of Luis Suarez biting Ottman Bakkal was revealed, resulting in the forward being handed a seven match ban by the Dutch FA, meaning he will now be out of domestic action until February 4th!
PSV only managing a point in Amsterdam meant that Twente would go level on points with the leaders if they beat Alkmaar in Enschede, no easy task with Gertjan Verbeek’s side having beaten Ajax 2-0 last weekend- keeping them in the race for this season’s title. Twente seemed to have shrugged off last week’s defeat and loss of first place with a 17th minute goal from Luuk De Jong to put them 1-0 up. Along with PSV, a massive match coming up in mid-week, against Inter Milan, didn’t even seem to phase the defending champions. However the game was turned on its head just after the half hour mark when Douglas Franco was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Erik Falkenberg, leaving Elm to equalise for AZ with the subsequent free-kick and see his side take charge of the game.
The beginning of the second half was not as predictable as fans may have thought, with the hosts matching their guests in the early exchanges despite being down to ten men. But with just over an hour gone Alkmaar capitalised on their numerical advantage with a goal from substitute Celso Ortiz putting them 2-1 up, condemning FC Twente to their first home loss of the season and now leaving them three points behind leaders PSV.
In the rest of Saturday’s action, Excelsior managed to climb back out of the relegation places by ending their recent poor run with a 1-0 win over VVV Venlo, who remain in 17th place and are now five points from safety. With fifteen minutes left Fernandez was brought down in the box, a challenge that earned Venlo defender Patrick Paauwe a red card. And although the original Gentenaar penalty was saved, Roland Bergkamp was on hand to tap home the rebound and earn a precious three points for his side.
De Graafschap put on an impressive display against Roda to open up the gap between them and the drop zone by beating them 3-1, meanwhile putting a dent in the away side’s Europa League qualification hopes. The star of the show was Graafschap striker Rydell Poepon who scored a hat trick for his side. His first two came in the space of three minutes during the 1st half putting the home side 2-0 up, but Huysegems made it 2-1 before the break. Poepon completed his hat trick and put the game to bed in the 76th minute with a great finish, making it 3-1 to De Graafschap.
Vitesse also put some daylight between them and the bottom three and leapfrogged Heracles in the table by beating them 2-0 at the Gelredome. Propper netted in the 1st five minutes and Stevanovic in the last five to ensure a home win.
Fourteen home goals without reply in Sunday’s games meant a very successful day for the four hosts in question. Heerenveen bagged the biggest haul of the day with a 5-0 win over basement club Willem II, leaving them still without a win. Vayrynen’s opener and braces from both Breuer and Beerens secured a thumping win for the Europa League play-off chasing side.
Groningen moved up into 3rd and kept their unbeaten home record intact by inflicting a 2-0 defeat on Feyenoord, seeing them drop into the relegation zone. Matavz grabbed a goal in each half and took his season’s tally to 7 to help his side overtake Ajax in the table.
Den Haag are up to sixth after a 3-0 win over Breda. Bulykin shone in a win that never seemed in any doubt from the start, scoring one and setting up Verhoek for the second. Radosavljevic wrapped up the points in the 65th minute.
A late flurry of goals saw Utrecht win 4-0 and rise to ninth in the table. A van Wolfswinkel penalty gave them the lead with 21 minutes gone, but their other 3 goals, from Duplan, Desu and Demouge, didn’t come until the 84th, 85th and 90th minutes respectively to earn them a comfortable win.