Here come ADO
Only a matter of time till 'Much ADO about nothing' crops up as a headline near you. IBWM will resist the temptation. For now. The Den Haag side are catching up though. Here's John Dobson on the Eredivisie.
Ajax 3-0 NAC
Utrecht 2-2 De Graafschap
ADO 2-1 Excelsior
VVV Venlo 0-1 AZ
Feyenoord 0-1 Twente
Willem II 2-4 PSV
Groningen 1-0 Heerenveen
Roda JC 4-1 Vitesse
Heracles 3-2 NEC
It’s still three points that cover the top five in the Eredivisie standings as they all won and still share just three defeats between them with the only change that Roda JC move above Groningen into fourth on goals scored.
Just the one goal was enough for Groningen against Heerenveen. The first attack of the second half producing a corner, which Andreas Granqvist headed home to seal a game that the northern side dominated. Roda’s four goals at home to lowly Vitesse move them up above Groningen as the Arnhem side slip into the bottom three. Three in five minutes late in the first half broke the backs of Vitesse, Mads Junker with two of them. Roda set off at a pace, but had to wait until the 31st minute for the breakthrough, Arnaud Djoum firing a cut-back in low to the keeper’s left. From the restart, Roda won it back and a perfect diagonal through-ball found Junker who slotted home 2-0. Two more minutes had passed when Junker put it into the roof of the net from 12 yards and it was four a few minutes after half-time as Willem Janssen ran along the byline and fired in from an incredibly tight angle. Julian Jenner got one back, but Vitesse were a well-beaten side.
PSV stay top, but had to work for their points in Tilburg where rock-bottom Willem II showed plenty of fight before succumbing. It looked like a rout was on the cards when Balazs Dzsudzsak fired in a third-minute free-kick, but PSV failed to deal with a corner seven minutes later and Andreas Landgren shot on the turn from 15 yards and it had just enough weight to make it into the net. A defensive slip let Jeremain Lens in to restore the lead six minutes later, but Willem II were back level on the half hour as Wilfred Bouma turned it into his own net. The sides turned round with PSV ahead, Ibrahim Afellay played in by a great Dzsudzsak ball in the last minute of the first 45. That broke the Tilburgers’ resistance and Jonathan Reis added a fourth early in the second half to wrap up the win.
Ajax won comfortably at home to NAC and were ahead on the quarter hour through Jan Vertonghen’s looping header. Luis Suarez played in Mounir El Hamdaoui who lobbed in the second on the half hour and Suarez wrapped it up late on with a sublime free-kick. Twente added to Feyenoord’s woes – they’re down in 15th – with a win at De Kuip, substitute Denny Landzaat coming off the bench to settle a game that the Tukkers dominated. Dwight Tiendalli teed up the former Feyenoord midfielder to slam it in from the edge of the box.
ADO lead the best of the rest; they’re up to sixth after beating nine-man Excelsior. Tim Vincken gave the Rotterdam side the lead on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot. Frantisek Kubik slid in for the equaliser twenty minutes into the second half before Excelsior imploded. Miquel Nelom was the first to go for striking Kubik in the face, coach Alex Pastoor was sent to the stands for entering the pitch and Norichio Nieveld also fouled Kubik to leave Excelsior short-handed on and off the pitch. An ADO winner had to come and Dmitry Bulykin got it in the last minute after the mother and father of all goalmouth scrambles. AZ are right behind ADO and are on a run of four straight wins. Just Graziano Pelle’s goal was needed to beat VVV Venlo, the Italian substitute reacting quickest as Kew Jaliens’ last-minute shot came back off the post. Utrecht couldn’t take advantage of NAC’s defeat to move back into the European play-off places as they blew a two-goal lead against De Graafschap. Jan Wuytens headed Utrecht ahead in the third minute from a corner. Ten minutes later, a quick Utrecht break was led by Jacob Mulenga, he exchanged passes on the run and stuck it past the advancing keeper for an excellent second. They didn’t press on for a third though and a towering header on the hour mark from Hugo Bargas pulled one back. Off the bench in place of Rydell Poepon, Steve de Ridder sealed an unlikely draw with a beautiful curling effort from 20 yards.
With just their second win of the season, Heracles move out of the bottom three and hand NEC their second straight loss. They nearly blew it despite building a two-goal lead through Willy Overtoom’s casual penalty and Everton’s tight finish. The second came moments after Erton Fejzullahu picked up his second caution to leave NEC a man short, but the Nijmegeners roared back to level. First, Lorenzo Davids nutmegged the keeper and Lasse Schone’s penalty ten minutes from time brought it back to 2-2. Heracles regrouped and got their reward three minutes from the end as a lovely Kwame Quansah cross found Samuel Armenteros on the run and he powered a great header in to win it.
Life gets no easier for Feyenoord as they go to Eindhoven this week while Ajax go to one of many Feyenoord graveyards, the tiny Verzekringen, the artificially surfaced home of Excelsior. Twente are at home to ADO, which may be a tricky encounter with Groningen away to NEC and Roda away in Breda. Willem II are still the only side without a win and it’s hard to see them get their first at the Almaarderhout.
NAC v Roda JC
De Graafschap v Heracles
NEC v Groningen
Heerenveen v VVV Venlo
Excelsior v Ajax
PSV v Feyenoord
Twente v ADO
AZ v Willem II
Vitesse v Utrecht