Ajax lost their second League match in a row at AZ on Sunday while PSV took over the League lead from FC Twente when they easily overcame Excelsior on Saturday: 4-1. Twente lost their first match of the season at NAC Breda: 2-1.
Ajax are in trouble. The Amsterdam team took their second loss in a row and their third in the season at AZ on Sunday: 2-0. “Fysically and mentally we simply were not good enough,” coach Martin Jol said. “It’s very disappointing because we actually had to win here.”
PSV took over the League lead from FC Twente when they easily overcame Excelsior on Saturday: 4-1. Twente lost their first match of the season at NAC Breda: 2-1. NAC thus erased all good memories the ‘Tukkers’ had about Breda, where they played their title match on the final matchday of last season (2-0).
The relegation battle between Willem II and De Graafschap was abandoned due to heavy rain in the 56th minute on Friday. “The players told me that the conditions were too bad to continue playing and both coaches agreed. That made my decision to quit a lot easier,” said referee Eric Braamhaar. When the match will be finished is not yet decided.
Due to heavy rain in the South of the Netherlands on Saturday, the match between Roda JC and FC Utrecht in Kerkrade was postponed.
PSV took over the League lead from FC Twente when they easily overcame Excelsior on Saturday: 4-1. The club had some other worries however. Star midfielder Ibrahim Afellay is talking to FC Barcelona about a possible move to Camp Nou during this winter’s transfer window.
Excelsior had a good start when Daan Bovenberg scored the 1-0 in the sixth minute. PSV were never in real trouble however. Jeremain Lens equalized in the 19th minute and veteran defender Wilfred Bouma put the home team ahead in the 34th minute. When Ola Toivonen scored the 3-1 five minutes into the second half, the match was effectively over.
Guyon Fernandez did score the 3-2 in the 70th minute, but Marcelo (78') ended all other Excelsior dreams. Afellay showed his importance for PSV with two assists and after the match he confirmed that he talked to Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola, but he also said that the deal is not done yet. PSV now will try not to let the transfer talks interfere with their preparations for next week’s match against Ajax.
Poor Thilo Leugers. The 19-year-old German FC Twente defender handed NAC the winning goal in the 90th minute on Saturday when he played a back-pass too short. Matthew Amoah did not hesitate and converted the unexpected chance to hand the home team a 2-1 win against the title holders. Twente took their first loss of the season and dropped from the top spot to second place in the League.
Twente seemed to be cruising to an easy victory on Saturday when Bryan Ruiz scored the 1-0 in the 21st minute. NAC did not manage to create any danger until Anthony Lurling and Ali Boussaboun came on in the last twenty minutes. Boussaboun shot home the 1-1 from a difficult angle on the right side. The striker scored his first Eredivisie goal in 1.5 years. His previous last goal was for FC Utrecht on 8 February 2009.
With their comeback victory win NAC erased all good memories FC Twente had about Breda, where the ‘Tukkers’ played their title match on the final matchday of last season (2-0). Coach Michel Preud’Homme didn’t want to blame Leugers. “It’s too bad for Thilo, but we have to blame the team’s mentality. We didn’t really tried to play football anymore in the second half.
Ajax are in trouble. The Amsterdam team took their second loss in a row and their third of the season at AZ on Sunday: 2-0. “Physically and mentally we simply were not good enough,” coach Martin Jol said. “It’s very disappointing because we actually had to win here.”
Ajax did not look like a winning team the entire match in Alkmaar. AZ chased them all over the pitch, playing in a much higher pace then their opponents. The visitors seemed to be intimidated and did not have an answer apart from answering fouls with fouls, which gave referee Pieter Vink a tough job. AZ deserved a goal in the first half, but Rasmus Elm, Pontus Wernbloom and Graziano Pellè missed good opportunities. Pellè started his first game this season after scoring four times in four matches as a substitute.
As a starter Pellè did not find the back of the net, but in the second half AZ got what it deserved when Wernbloom (74’) and Kolbeinn Sigthórsson (’77) scored. Ajax’ André Ooijer received a red card in the 89th minute, which means the former PSV-defender will miss next week’s match against his former club.
In his last match as interim coach Hans van Arum took his first win at VVV-Venlo on Sunday. His successor Albert Ferrer was in the stands and the Spaniard must have been pleased with his new team, except for their lack of efficiency in the box.
VVV-Venlo, who took an important away win at bottom ranked Willem II last week, were nowhere from their usual shape. Vitesse were up 2-0 at half time, but it could have been 5-0 as well. Ismail Aissati, Davy Pröpper and Julian Jenner missed good chances and Alexander Büttner hit the crossbar with a free kick.
When Ruud Boymans scored the 2-1 from a penalty in the 77th minute, VVV seemed to be able to take advantage of Vitesse’s inability to score. Michael Uchebo even thought he scored the 2-2, but the goal was called off because of offside. Late substitute Marcus Pedersen (84’,86’) and Aissati (89’) secured Vitesse’s victory eventually.
NEC grabbed a well deserved draw when Ramon Zomer headed home a Leroy George corner in the final minute against ADO Den Haag on Sunday: 1-1. Both teams played an open and attacking game, but towards the end the visitors were pushed with their backs against the wall.
ADO were lucky to get 1-0 up in the 39th minute when defender Nathaniel Will unluckily scored an own goal when he tried to clear a Wesley Verhoek cross. “It was clumsy,” Will said. “The cross was good and there was an player in my back. If I hadn’t touched the ball, he would have scored.”
In the second half NEC were attacking furiously with Lasse Schöne as the architect. Joint Eredivisie top scorer Björn Vleminckx did not add up to his tally however. Nathaniel Will and Bram Nuytinck also missed some good chances before Zomer handed NEC the draw.
Heracles made up for their Cup disaster at the amateur team Achilles ’29 on Thursday when they beat FC Groningen 3-0 on Sunday. The visitors took only their third loss of the season. For Heracles it was their first win over Groningen with more than a one goal difference in Eredivisie history.
Samuel Armenteros was the big man for the home team. The Swedish forward scored 1-0 in a crowded box in the 41st minute and he set up the attack for 2-0 in the 72nd minute when he passed to Darl Douglas who gave an assist to Everton. The Brazilian first hit the goalkeeper, but converted the rebound himself. Mark Looms headed home 3-0 from a corner in the 84th minute.
Groningen could have overtaken Ajax on the ranking because the number three lost 2-0 at AZ, but because of their own defeat coach Pieter Huistra’s team stays fourth. The trainer partly blamed the tough Cup match against ADO Denb Haag on Thusrday, when his team only won in a penalty shotout after 120 minutes of football on a rain soaked pitch. “Yes, that did not help. After a match like that you need some time to recuperate.’
Feyenoord – sc Heerenveen started with a minute of silence to honor club icon Fred Blankemeijer, who died at the age of 84 this week. Blankemeijer played 28 matches for the club and remained with Feyenoord as scout, trainer, technical director, press manager for 70 years. The pre match tribute was better than Feyenoord’s tribute on the pitch. The home team started well, but fell back and eventually had to settle for a draw: 2-2.
Luc Castaignos put Feyenoord ahead scoring in his third consecutive match in the 11th minute. Mika Väyrynen equalized in the 53rd minute and after that goal Heerenveen played with a winning spirit. Viktor Elm scored 2-1 and the visitors were heading for their third consecutive League win until 19-year-old Jerson Cabral secured a point for Feyenoord.
“We should have scored more in the first half,” Feyenoord coach Mario Been said. “After they equalized we were only heading backwards. We take too few points from our home matches, which is disappointing because we had the chance for more today.”
PSV took over the League lead from FC Twente when they easily overcame Excelsior on Saturday: 4-1. Twente lost their first match of the season at NAC Breda: 2-1. NAC thus erased all good memories the ‘Tukkers’ had about Breda, where they played their title match on the final matchday of last season (2-0).
The relegation battle between Willem II and De Graafschap was abandoned due to heavy rain in the 56th minute on Friday. “The players told me that the conditions were too bad to continue playing and both coaches agreed. That made my decision to quit a lot easier,” said referee Eric Braamhaar. When the match will be finished is not yet decided.
Due to heavy rain in the South of the Netherlands on Saturday, the match between Roda JC and FC Utrecht in Kerkrade was postponed.
PSV took over the League lead from FC Twente when they easily overcame Excelsior on Saturday: 4-1. The club had some other worries however. Star midfielder Ibrahim Afellay is talking to FC Barcelona about a possible move to Camp Nou during this winter’s transfer window.
Excelsior had a good start when Daan Bovenberg scored the 1-0 in the sixth minute. PSV were never in real trouble however. Jeremain Lens equalized in the 19th minute and veteran defender Wilfred Bouma put the home team ahead in the 34th minute. When Ola Toivonen scored the 3-1 five minutes into the second half, the match was effectively over.
Guyon Fernandez did score the 3-2 in the 70th minute, but Marcelo (78') ended all other Excelsior dreams. Afellay showed his importance for PSV with two assists and after the match he confirmed that he talked to Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola, but he also said that the deal is not done yet. PSV now will try not to let the transfer talks interfere with their preparations for next week’s match against Ajax.
Poor Thilo Leugers. The 19-year-old German FC Twente defender handed NAC the winning goal in the 90th minute on Saturday when he played a back-pass too short. Matthew Amoah did not hesitate and converted the unexpected chance to hand the home team a 2-1 win against the title holders. Twente took their first loss of the season and dropped from the top spot to second place in the League.
Twente seemed to be cruising to an easy victory on Saturday when Bryan Ruiz scored the 1-0 in the 21st minute. NAC did not manage to create any danger until Anthony Lurling and Ali Boussaboun came on in the last twenty minutes. Boussaboun shot home the 1-1 from a difficult angle on the right side. The striker scored his first Eredivisie goal in 1.5 years. His previous last goal was for FC Utrecht on 8 February 2009.
With their comeback victory win NAC erased all good memories FC Twente had about Breda, where the ‘Tukkers’ played their title match on the final matchday of last season (2-0). Coach Michel Preud’Homme didn’t want to blame Leugers. “It’s too bad for Thilo, but we have to blame the team’s mentality. We didn’t really tried to play football anymore in the second half.
Ajax are in trouble. The Amsterdam team took their second loss in a row and their third of the season at AZ on Sunday: 2-0. “Physically and mentally we simply were not good enough,” coach Martin Jol said. “It’s very disappointing because we actually had to win here.”
Ajax did not look like a winning team the entire match in Alkmaar. AZ chased them all over the pitch, playing in a much higher pace then their opponents. The visitors seemed to be intimidated and did not have an answer apart from answering fouls with fouls, which gave referee Pieter Vink a tough job. AZ deserved a goal in the first half, but Rasmus Elm, Pontus Wernbloom and Graziano Pellè missed good opportunities. Pellè started his first game this season after scoring four times in four matches as a substitute.
As a starter Pellè did not find the back of the net, but in the second half AZ got what it deserved when Wernbloom (74’) and Kolbeinn Sigthórsson (’77) scored. Ajax’ André Ooijer received a red card in the 89th minute, which means the former PSV-defender will miss next week’s match against his former club.
In his last match as interim coach Hans van Arum took his first win at VVV-Venlo on Sunday. His successor Albert Ferrer was in the stands and the Spaniard must have been pleased with his new team, except for their lack of efficiency in the box.
VVV-Venlo, who took an important away win at bottom ranked Willem II last week, were nowhere from their usual shape. Vitesse were up 2-0 at half time, but it could have been 5-0 as well. Ismail Aissati, Davy Pröpper and Julian Jenner missed good chances and Alexander Büttner hit the crossbar with a free kick.
When Ruud Boymans scored the 2-1 from a penalty in the 77th minute, VVV seemed to be able to take advantage of Vitesse’s inability to score. Michael Uchebo even thought he scored the 2-2, but the goal was called off because of offside. Late substitute Marcus Pedersen (84’,86’) and Aissati (89’) secured Vitesse’s victory eventually.
NEC grabbed a well deserved draw when Ramon Zomer headed home a Leroy George corner in the final minute against ADO Den Haag on Sunday: 1-1. Both teams played an open and attacking game, but towards the end the visitors were pushed with their backs against the wall.
ADO were lucky to get 1-0 up in the 39th minute when defender Nathaniel Will unluckily scored an own goal when he tried to clear a Wesley Verhoek cross. “It was clumsy,” Will said. “The cross was good and there was an player in my back. If I hadn’t touched the ball, he would have scored.”
In the second half NEC were attacking furiously with Lasse Schöne as the architect. Joint Eredivisie top scorer Björn Vleminckx did not add up to his tally however. Nathaniel Will and Bram Nuytinck also missed some good chances before Zomer handed NEC the draw.
Heracles made up for their Cup disaster at the amateur team Achilles ’29 on Thursday when they beat FC Groningen 3-0 on Sunday. The visitors took only their third loss of the season. For Heracles it was their first win over Groningen with more than a one goal difference in Eredivisie history.
Samuel Armenteros was the big man for the home team. The Swedish forward scored 1-0 in a crowded box in the 41st minute and he set up the attack for 2-0 in the 72nd minute when he passed to Darl Douglas who gave an assist to Everton. The Brazilian first hit the goalkeeper, but converted the rebound himself. Mark Looms headed home 3-0 from a corner in the 84th minute.
Groningen could have overtaken Ajax on the ranking because the number three lost 2-0 at AZ, but because of their own defeat coach Pieter Huistra’s team stays fourth. The trainer partly blamed the tough Cup match against ADO Denb Haag on Thusrday, when his team only won in a penalty shotout after 120 minutes of football on a rain soaked pitch. “Yes, that did not help. After a match like that you need some time to recuperate.’
Feyenoord – sc Heerenveen started with a minute of silence to honor club icon Fred Blankemeijer, who died at the age of 84 this week. Blankemeijer played 28 matches for the club and remained with Feyenoord as scout, trainer, technical director, press manager for 70 years. The pre match tribute was better than Feyenoord’s tribute on the pitch. The home team started well, but fell back and eventually had to settle for a draw: 2-2.
Luc Castaignos put Feyenoord ahead scoring in his third consecutive match in the 11th minute. Mika Väyrynen equalized in the 53rd minute and after that goal Heerenveen played with a winning spirit. Viktor Elm scored 2-1 and the visitors were heading for their third consecutive League win until 19-year-old Jerson Cabral secured a point for Feyenoord.
“We should have scored more in the first half,” Feyenoord coach Mario Been said. “After they equalized we were only heading backwards. We take too few points from our home matches, which is disappointing because we had the chance for more today.”
