There are only a couple of weekends left in this season's Eredivisie and every single team still has something to play for. Another bad weekend for PSV has seen them slip down to third, a massive win for Willem has kept their hopes of survival alive, whilst denting AZ's chances of finishing fourth, and there is still a Europa League play-off spot up for grabs.
League leaders Twente kicked things off by beating ADO 2-1 in Den Haag, and subsequently the losers missed the chance to go fourth. It took over an hour for the game's first goal when Bryan Ruiz was given the simple task of knocking the ball into an open goal from two yards out to give Twente the lead. However ADO responded less than ten minutes later through Golden Boot contender Dmitry Bulykin who levelled things up. But it was the defending champions who had the last say when Dutch international Luuk De Jong hit the winner just four minutes from time to take them back to the top of the league.
Willem II Tilburg notched up just their third win of the campaign to keep their faint survival hopes alive at the expense of visiting AZ Alkmaar, who could have all but wrapped up fourth place with a win. Andreas Lasnik took just five minutes to put Willem a goal to the good when his curling free kick found the back of the net, but AZ struck back through Kolbeinn Sigthórsson on the half hour to make it 1-1. The hosts continued to press and were rewarded for their determination after 62 minutes when Evgeniy Levchenko made it 2-1. Alkmaar searched for an equaliser to no avail, and the points were Willem's after Hecto Moreno's dismissal recuced AZ to ten in the 87th minute.
Roda took full advantage of the result in Tilburg and are now just two points behind AZ after their resounding 5-1 win over NAC Breda. And the first goal came after 14 minutes when Jimmy Hempte found the back of the net, with Morten Skoubo doubling Roda's lead three minutes later. Mads Junker made it 3-0 on 27, but NAC managed to pull one back before the break through Joonas Kolkka. However the Europa League hopefuls continued to dominate and Junker hit his 20th of the season from the spot to make it 4-1. Provider of the opening two goals Anouar Hadouir added one of his own to wrap up the scoring in the 65th minute.
Heracles are still just a point outside the Europa League play-offs after a comfortable 2-0 home win over De Graafschap. Everton Ramos Da Silva put his side ahead in the 41st minute, and Willy Overtoom put the result beyond any doubt when he found the top right corner with the last kick of the game to earn the Almelo side a well-deserved three points.
A dramatic last five minutes at De Koel has left Venlo with Willem II Tilburg breathing down their necks as the second bottom club drew 2-2 to grab a point against Heerenveen. Mika Väyrynen's strike on the stroke of half time looked to have won the game, especially after Venlo's Dario Vujicevic missed the chance to equalise from the spot. This was until the 86th minute, when Ruud Boymans turned the game on its head by scoring two in two minutes to make it 2-1. But there was still more to come as Bas Dost's last gasp goal levelled the affair and both sides left with a point.
PSV were dealt a near fatal blow in their bid for the title as they were beaten 3-1 by Feyenoord in Rotterdam. Both sides started brightly but it was Feyenoord who took the lead through Georgino Wijnaldum on 27. Eindhoven made it even harder on themselves after the break when Orlando Engelaar saw red for a wild challenge, but despite this just three minutes later the visitors were level after Ola Toivonen's shot from distance made it 1-1.
Feyenoord have not lost a game in which Wijnaldum has scored, and he seemed keen on keeping it this way as he restored his side's lead just after the hour mark. And Luc Castaignos confirmed the win in the 79th minute when his calm finish made it 3-1.
Ajax had no such trouble in their game as they easily saw off lowly Excelsior 4-1 to jump above PSV into second. Lorenzo Ebicilio scored Ajax's first after thirteen minutes, but despite their pressing it was Excelsior who scored the game's next goal when Daan Bovenberg's 54th minute strike made it 1-1. News started to filter around the Amsterdam ArenA of PSV's struggles in Rotterdam and Ajax found another gear in the last twenty minutes to ensure they took full advantage of it. Christian Eriksen fired them back into the lead with Ebicilio's second of the night making it 3-1 not long after and Siem De Jong wrapped things up in stoppage time.
Groningen have not given up on fourth spot after their 3-1 win over NEC leaves them just three points adrift. Thomas Enevoldsen made it 1-0 after 21 minutes, only to see his effort cancelled out by Niki Zimling four minutes later. And it wasn't until the last ten minutes that Groningen really took control of the game as Dušan Tadić made it 2-1 with seven minutes left, and Tim Matavž's strike made sure of the points six minutes later.
Finally, Utrecht ended their losing run by beating Vitesse 4-2 in a second half goal-fest at Nieuw Galgewaard. Neither side found the net in the first 45 minutes, but there were three quick fire goals soon after the interval. A Yasuda own goal kicked off the flurry with Dries Mertens adding another less than a minute later to give Utrect a two goal lead.
However, that cushion was instantly halved when Gusham Kashia made it 2-1 in the 54th. Kevin Strootman restored the two goal lead on the hour and Frank Demouge ended the game as a contest in the 73rd minute making it 4-1. Adnane Tighadouini added a consolation for Vitesse four minutes from time, to put an end to a very entertaining second half.