Eagles soar above Ajax to cut Eredivisie lead to two points

Go Ahead Eagles dared to dream against Ajax. Photo: ANP/Maurice van Steen

A shock defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer cut Ajax’s lead at the top of the Eredivisie to two points.

Go Ahead went into the match without a win in their last nine league matches, but after a lacklustre start by the champions the home side took the lead when Inigo Cordoba’s shot was deflected past André Onana.

Philippe Rommens doubled the advantage just before the break, while Ajax’s only reply was a header by Steven Berghuis after 64 minutes.

Nearest rivals PSV had to work hard to claim the points against Sparta in Rotterdam. Roger Schmidt’s side were 1-0 behind to Lennart Thy’s first-half strike when Sparta defender Arno Verscheuren was sent off for a heavy tackle on Eran Zahavi in the 54th minute.

The extra man advantage proved decisive as PSV overturned the deficit with goals from Mauro Junior and Ritsu Down.

Fourth-placed AZ Alkmaar closed the gap on Feyenoord to three points with victory over the Rotterdam club.

Jesper Karlsson struck twice from the penalty spot to extend AZ’s unbeaten run to 12 matches and leave former manager Arie Slot empty-handed on his return to Alkmaar.

Vitesse won the Gelderland derby against NEC Nijmegen 4-1, despite going behind early in the second half through Mikkel Duelund, on loan from Dynamo Kyiv, who dedicated his goal to the people of Ukraine.

At the bottom of the table, PEC suffered their first defeat since Christmas in Almelo on a weekend when all of the five bottom clubs lost.

Goalkeeper Kostas Lamprou failed to cut out a long pass and left the goal unguarded for Luca de la Torre to score Heracles’s opener in the first half, before Sinan Bakis added a second with a low shot.

Defender Bjorn Meijer became the youngest defender to score for Groningen since a certain Ronald Koeman in 1982 with a header that was enough to claim all three points against Willem II.

Fortuna Sittard stay in the play-off zone after Cambuur Leeuwarden came back to win with two goals from Tom Boere.

FC Twente snatched a late winner at RKC to put a damper on the Brabant club’s Carnaval celebrations. Substitute Dimitrios Limnios headed home in the 91st minute after Jens Odgaard looked to have rescued a point for RKC with an overhit cross that flew into the back of the net.

Results

Friday

RKC Waalwijk 1-2 Twente Enschede

Saturday

Cambuur Leeuwarden 2-1 Fortuna Sittard

Groningen 1-0 Willem II Tilburg

Heracles Almelo 2-0 PEC Zwolle

Sunday

AZ Alkmaar 2-1 Feyenoord

Go Ahead Eagles 2-1 Ajax

Sparta Rotterdam 1-2 PSV Eindhoven

Heerenveen L-L Utrecht

Vitesse Arnhem 4-1 NEC Nijmegen

Sparta Rotterdam 1-2 PSV Eindhoven

Vitesse Arnhem 4-1 NEC Nijmegen