Eredivisie weekend round up: A​jax and Heracles set the pace

eredivisie logo footballAjax remain top of the Eredivisie table, one point clear of surprise package Heracles who stunned champions PSV in Almelo, writes Neil Adderley

NEC Nijmegen 2 ­ 0 Heerenveen: Santos double sinks Heerenveen

Two goals either side of halftime by Christian Santos gave NEC victory over a disappointing Heerenveen.

Well beaten by Groningen in last weekends derby, Dwight Lodeweges’ side were once again second best in Nijmegen.

NEC deservedly broke the deadlock after 18 minutes when Santos fired home after some sloppy defending by the visitors.

Lodeweges made two substitutions after only 38 minutes, however the changes had little impact as NEC continued to dominate.

Navarone Foor and Marcel Ritzmaier both missed opportunities before Santos slid home from a corner to kill the game and secure the points for NEC.

Cambuur 0 ­ 0 Twente: Dull draw in Leeuwarden

Both Cambuur and Twente came into the game searching for a first win, yet neither side looked like claiming all the points in a dour affair in Friesland.

Hakim Ziyech came closest for the visitors when firing over, while Bartholomew Ogbeche saw his late deflected shot trickle past the wrong side of the post.

Heracles 2 ­ 1 PSV: Champions floored by high flying Heracles

Heracles’ remarkable start to the season continued in Almelo as Mark­Jan Fledderus and Thomas Bruns cancelled out Luuk de Jong’s 2nd minute opener.

Heracles boss John Stegeman may have feared the worst as De Jong gave PSV an early lead.

However, a new found belief in Almelo paid dividends after 39 minutes when Fledderus struck an unstoppable shot beyond Jeroen Zoet.

And the comeback was complete when Bruns converted on the stroke of halftime.

PSV pushed for an equaliser after the break, but Heracles, now just one point behind leaders Ajax, held firm to record a famous win in their best ever start to an Eredivisie campaign.

PEC Zwolle 2 ­ 1 ADO Den Haag: PEC overcome ADO with late fightback

Two goals in the final twenty minutes from Sheraldo Becker and Lars Veldwijk handed Ron Jans’ men victory in Zwolle.

Striker Mike Havenaar had given the visitors a 35th minute lead with a smart left foot finish, and within five minutes of the second half ADO almost doubled the lead through Roland Alberg.

The returning midfielder hitting a fierce free kick that bounced back off the upright.

PEC were eventually level on 70 minutes as Becker’s mis hit cross sailed into the top corner of the net.

And it was left to club top scorer Veldwijk to secure all the points with a smart 80th minute turn and finish.

Willem II 3 ­ 1 Utrecht: Tilburgers claim first win of the season

Goals from Erik Falkenburg, Frank van der Struijk and Lucas Anderson were enough for Willem II to see off ten man Utrecht.

Ajax loanee Andersen was the star of the shown in Tilburg as Willem II finally secured a first win of the season.

While Anderson shone with an assist and a goal, Utrecht striker Sebastien Haller was the villain of the piece.

The young French striker was shown a 40th minute red card after kicking out at van der Struijk.

Despite bring reduced to ten men, Utrecht levelled the scores through Nacer Barazite, however the visitors joy

was short lived as firstly van der Struijk, and then man of the match Lucas Anderson put the game beyond Utrecht.

Roda JC 1 ­ 1 Feyenoord: Rotterdammers held in Kerkrade

A stunning Hicham Faik free kick was enough for newly promoted Roda JC to hold Feyenoord at the Parkstad Limburg Stadion.

Feyenoord took a deserved a lead on 20 minutes when Michiel Kramer headed home from a Rick Karsdorp cross.

Only for Faik to curl a dead ball over Kenneth Vermeer in the Feyenoord goal just seven minutes later.

The visitors struggled to test the Roda defence in a disappointing second half, although Dirk Kuijt could have won the game in injury time.

The ex­Utrecht, Liverpool and Fenerbahce man striking the bar in the dying seconds.

Excelsior 0 ­ 2 Ajax: El Ghazi keeps Ajax ticking over

Young Ajax winger Anwar El Ghazi scored his seventh goal in six games to keep Ajax at the top of the Eredivisie table.

Excelsior were set up to frustrate the visitors, and the game plan worked well until El Ghazi danced through the defence before beating Filip Kurto on 34 minutes.

And when Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik was given the room to turn and fire past Kurto just before the break, Frank de Boer’s men had done enough to secure all three points.

Groningen 2 ­ 0 AZ Alkmaar: Groningen ease past struggling AZ

Both teams had tasted mid­week Europa League defeat, but it was Groningen who shook off the hangover with a comfortable victory at the Euroborg.

Goals in each half from Bryan Linssen and super­sub Mimoun Mahi proved enough against an AZ side struggling to recapture last season’s form.

The hosts were in front on 31 minutes as Linssen pounced when AZ keeper Sergio Rochet could only parry a Danny Hoesen effort.

Groningen should have settled the game early in the second half as both Michael de Leeuw and Hedwiges Maduro failed to test the AZ keeper.

However, the home supporters could finally celebrate a third home win of the season when substitute Mahi beat Rochet with a fine strike in injury time.

Vitesse 3 ­ 0 De Graafschap: Vitesse pile on the misery for winless visitors

De Graafchap’s Eredivisie dream is quickly becoming a nightmare as Vitesse condemned the newcomers to a sixth straight defeat in Arnhem.

The hosts were quickly in command as Guram Kashia headed home a Lewis Baker corner on six minutes.

Any prospect of De Graafschap claiming a first point was swiftly snuffed out on 20 minutes when Valeri Qazaishvili squeezed the ball past keeper Hidde Jurjus.

With the visitors well beaten, Milot Rashica added insult to injury on 73 minutes to leave De Graafschap winless, pointless, and firmly rooted to the foot of the Eredivisie table.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation