Taylor Booth and Utrecht saw a late equalizer by Go Ahead Eagles ruin their victory party, while Ricardo Pepi and Groningen were no match for a clinical Feyenoord team.
Go Ahead Eagles 2 – 2 FC Utrecht
Taylor Booth was an active presence in the Utrecht attack on Sunday, however the team was forced to settle for a draw at Go Ahead Eagles after conceding a late equalizer.
Booth played the first 85 minutes of the game on the right side of the front three, forcing one save with his lone shot of the game, setting up another two chances, winning half of his four duels, and beating the opposition on his only dribble attempt.
Utrecht were on the front foot from the opening whistle, seeing a penalty shout ignored just past the two-minute mark, before being gifted the opener by their opponents just seconds later.
Amin Younes sent in a long free kick from the left. While keeper Jeffrey de Lange had a clear line to scoop it up easily, Willum Willumsson got his hed on the ball, sending it into his own net.
Bobby Adekanye brought the host even again in the tenth minute, settling a poorly cleared corner and blasting it into the upper left corner.
Three minutes later, Sander van de Streek continued the early flurry of goals, with the opposition again playing a role. Jay Idzes tried to clear a deep cross clear of goal on the right side of the six-yard box, but weakly headed the ball back towards the opposite post where the long-time Utrecht midfielder could easily put it away.
The game eventually settled down, with both teams relatively evenly sharing possession and chances for the remainder, although failing to make any further breakthroughs.
With five minutes in regulation, Utrecht head coach Michael Silberbauer locked down for the win, bringing on defender Hidde ter Avest for Booth, however a late surge by the hosts secured the point.
Rashaan Fernandes fired a cross from near the right corner flag, which took an unlucky bounce off of a Utrecht defender back to Sylla Sow at the right post for an easy tap-in.
The single point leaves Utrecht in seventh place, still safely in the European playoff spots. They visit fifth-place Twente on Sunday in a crucial six-pointer.
Vitesse 0 – 0 NEC Nijmegen
Philippe Sandler had a strong performance for NEC Nijmegen on Sunday afternoon before leaving the game in the final minutes with a minor ankle injury as the team fought for a scoreless draw at Vitesse.
Before departing the game, he was solid in the middle of Nijmegen’s defense, making nine clearances, winning his only tackle completing 81% of his 37 passing attempts, and winning his only duel.
The visitors were on the back foot for much of the game, after Oussama Tannane was shown a straight red in the 23rd minute for a light slap on Vitesse midfielder Kacper Kozlowski as they battled for the ball.
Vitesse used their advantage to dominate possession and outshoot their visitors by a 24-6 margin, but were thwarted by Sandler and his teammates, plus a fine performance by keeper Jasper Cillessen, who made seven saves in the game.
With ten minutes left in regulation, Sandler departed for what was later identified by the coach as a minor ankle injury. This had no impact on the outcome, as the teams each took a point for their efforts.
Nijmegen remain ninth in the Eredivisie standings with the draw, and are back in action on Saturday when they host relegation-threatened Emmen.
FC Groningen 0 – 3 Feyenoord Rotterdam
Ricardo Pepi went the distance for Groningen on Sunday, putting in a decent performance on the attack despite the team being completely overwhelmed by Feyenoord in the home loss.
It was clear from the get-go that Feyenoord were the far superior team, already putting two on the board within the first half hour. Pepi provided some of the few offensive bright spots for the hosts, taking three shots, forcing one save by the Feyenoord keeper, and setting up one additional chance.
Still, the visitors held 58% of possession, took 28 shots compared to five for their hosts, and held a 13-2 margin on corners.
They were on the board after 19 minutes when Igor Paixao rose to head in a cross from Mats Wieffer, then doubled the lead just past the half-our mark when Paixao found Orkun Kökcü just outside the area for spectacular, looping shot to the upper right corner.
The hosts mostly stopped the bleeding for the final hour, although Feyenoord did add one final exclamation point in added time, Santiago Gimenez powering forward and beating Groningen keeper Michael Verrips for the final 3-0 score.
Groningen occupy 15th place with the loss, even on points with Emmen and Volendam in the relegation places, but just ahead by way of their goalscoring record. They next face a tough visit to Heerenveen on Sunday.
Notes
New AZ arrival Djordje Mihailovic was an unused substitute on Saturday for his team’s 2-0 road win over Heerenveen.
On-loan Excelsior Rotterdam defender Kik Pierie is injured, and missed out on his new team’s 1-0 road loss against crosstown rivals Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday.
Richard Ledezma returned to active duty for PSV Eindhoven, and was an unused substitute on Sunday for their 2-2 draw at Fortuna Sittard, a game which saw them concede the equalizer deep into injury time.
Joshua Pynadath was nowhere to be found on Friday for Jong AZ’s 1-0 road loss to Telstar in Eerste Divisie action. He will likely take no part when the team has a quick turnaround and is back in action on Monday at TOP Oss.
Dante Sealy will hope to earn minutes for Jong PSV on Monday night when they host VVV-Venlo.
