This past weekend in Holland could prove to be one of the most pivotal so far this season. An embarrassing loss for PSV and a slip up from Twente, who have both been less than impressive the last couple of weeks, mean both Ajax and FC Groningen are very much back in the hunt for the Eredivisie crown.
Ajax hosted De Graafschap to kick off the weekend's fixtures in front of 48,000 fans at the Amsterdam Arena, and they did not disappoint with their 2-0 win taking them to within three points of the Eredivisie summit. El Hamdaoui's opener made sure that his side went in a goal up at the break, and despite both sides having chances in the second half it was Ajax who struck again eleven minutes from time through Siem De Jong to end any hopes of a Graafschap comeback.
Saturday was a big day for upsets in the Netherlands, and perhaps the biggest of the day was Excelsior's 2-1 triumph over faltering AZ to take them within two points of safety. Alkmaar had seemingly ended their slump last week with a crushing 6-1 win, and when Kolbeinn Sigthórsson scored with ten minutes gone, adding to the five he netted against Venlo last weekend, this resurgence looked set to continue.
And it was only Excelsior keeper Cees Paauwe that kept the game at 1-0 with a fine first half performance. However it was all change in the second half, and in the 65th minute Tim Vincken's well struck penalty levelled things up. Then in the 80th minute a Jordy Clasie free kick from 45 yards managed to find its way through everybody in the crowded area and into the bottom corner of Sergio Romero's net, making it 2-1 to the strugglers and earning them a famous and crucial victory.
A last gasp goal saved PSV's blushes a week prior, but this past weekend it was Den Haag who scored with the last kick of the game to win 1-0 in front of the league leader's own fans. PSV have been far from convincing since the winter break, and this continued against Den Haag as they failed to put their chances away and ultimately paid the price. Wesley Verhoek got on the end of substitute Charlton Vincento's cross to score the winner and move his side up to fifth, only five points outside the top four.
VVV Venlo bounced back from their 6-1 defeat last week with an impressive 3-0 win over NAC Breda. The hosts were 1-0 up within two minutes through Ahmed Musa and could have been 2-0 up before the break if it hadn't have been for Ruud Boymans missed penalty. However goals from Jorge Chula and Achmed Ahahaoui in the second half ensured Venlo notched up only their fourth win of the season.
Heerenveen and Nijmegen played out an uneventful 0-0 draw in a game where both would have been hoping for three points to help push their Europa League claims. It wasn't until the 85th minute that the game saw its best chance when Jasper Cillessen pulled off an excellent save to keep out Bas Dost's header and to ensure his side left with a point.
FC Twente had the chance to go top on Sunday if they could beat Utrecht, but it wasn't to be as the defending champions could only manage a point and had to come from behind to get that. Leon de Kogel deservedly fired his side ahead with 37 minutes gone, but five minutes after the restart Nacer Chadli levelled the tie. Most would have expected Preud'homme's men to push on from there, especially with top spot up for grabs, but it was Utrecht who carried on pressing and in the end probably deserved more than a point against the visitors.
Groningen did not fail to take advantage of PSV's, and subsequently Twente's mistakes, as they hammered basement side Willem Tilburg 7-1. Andreas Granqvist, Fredrik Stenman and Tim Matavž's first of the night put the home side 3-0 up at half time, but after the break Granqvist was dismissed for handling in the box and Andreas Lasnik scored the spot kick to give his side a glimmer of hope.
However just three minutes later Willem also found themselves down to ten men (thanks to Arjan Swinkels), and Matavž scored his penalty to make it 2 for him and 4-1 to Groningen. It only got worse there on in for the visitors as they were then reduced to nine (loanee Gerrit Pressel) and Matavž completed his hat trick along with goals from Tim Enevoldsen and Dusan Tadić to complete the 7-1 rout.
Both Feyenoord and Vitesse needed three points when they met on Sunday with Excelsior now snapping at their heels after their impressive win, but it wasn't to be as both sides had to settle for a point after a 1-1 draw. Luc Castaignos put the Rotterdam side ahead with fifty six minutes gone, only for Ismail Aissati's penalty to square things up again seven minutes later, and that's how it stayed.
Heracles managed a much needed 1-0 win over Roda to pull away from the bottom three. The only goal of the game came in the 53rd minute when Willy Overtoom's 25 yard strike hit the back of the net, his 8th so far this term. Despite being reduced to ten men twenty five minutes from time Heracles managed to hang on and take all three crucial points.