Full round-up of all the action from round eight of the Eredivisie, summed up by Leo Walker.

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twenteAs round 8 concluded, a new name appeared at the top of the Eredivisie table as FC Twente, Champions of 2009/10 rose to the summit in emphatic style after inflicting a 5-0 defeat on FC Groningen. At half time FC Twente were already secured of the three points when 3-0 up and the visitors to the Grolsch Veste Stadion down to ten men. The 5-0 rout was completed with two further goals in the second half in what was a comfortable performance by FC Twente where they didn’t need to get out of second gear.

Heading into the round, PSV were the league leaders and they got the action underway on Saturday when suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of AZ Alkmaar. Nick Viergiver gave AZ the lead before Memphis Depay scored before half time to send them in level at the break. To win the tight game, it needed a moment of brilliance from either side, and Aron Johansson surely provided that with a stunning volley from 25 yards which ensured the three points would head to AZ and record the same 2-1 score line that they defeated PSV in the KNVB Cup final last season. Despite the win, AZ Alkmaar head coach Gertjan Verbeek was released of his duties by the management on Sunday as conflicts worsened between the manager and the players. Erwin Koeman is a manager under pressure after his RKC Waalwijk side were defeated at home 4-1 by Heracles Almelo. The visitors showed they can make do without Lerin Duarte who departed for Ajax as they recorded their biggest victory of the season so far and move up to 10th in the league.

Current champions Ajax experienced a game of two halves on Saturday evening against Go Ahead Eagles when seeing out the day’s action. At half time and in a tight game the teams went in level with the visitors proving difficult to break down against. The visitors were understandably happy with their first half performance however within 9 minutes of the restart they found themselves incredibly 4-0 down. A further two goals were added before the 70th minute and Ajax recorded a 6-0 victory over the promoted side to inflict there 29th defeat at the Amsterdam Arena in their 29th visit. Saturday also saw former league leaders PEC Zwolle continue their demise down the rankings as they remain winless in four games after recording four straight victories at the start of the season. They were held to a 0-0 draw at home to NAC Breda in the only goalless draw of the weekend. The only other draw of the round was also on Saturday however much more entertaining when Roda JC suffered late heartbreak in Utrecht. Despite falling behind twice, Roda JC battled on to lead 3-2 in the 75th minute, however with four minutes to go they were pegged back with the scores finishing 3-3, the fifth time the score has appeared already this season.

Sunday was Derby day in the Eredivisie when the day’s action started with the De Gelderse derby when Vitesse travelled to the home of NEC Nijmegen. A feisty encounter saw NEC Nijmegen pull level on two occasions however with the game looking like it was heading for a 2-2 draw and a share of the spoils, Lucas Piazon popped up with a last minute winner to inflict heartbreak on the hosts. The first Friesland Derby in 13 years followed when SC Cambuur took on sc Heerenveen at the Abe Lenstra Stadion. In a narrow game, sc Heerenveen led early on through Luciano Slagveer however they almost paid the ultimate price for being unable to put the game to bed when the visitors equalised through on loan, Jody Lukoki. SC Cambuur fans were still celebrating though when Alfred Finnbogason went straight down the other end and with a delightful chip, immediately restored the host’s one goal lead with sc Heerenveen holding the title of the Kings of Friesland after their 2-1 victory.

Feyenoord continue to recover from their poor start to the season as they recorded a 4-2 home victory over ADO Den Haag to climb up to 8th on 13 points, just two of the top. Graziano Pellé scored his second hat-trick of the season so far and take his season tally up to 9 goals from 8 appearances as Ronald Koeman’s side comfortably led 4-0. However Feyenoord always looked cagey at the back and conceded on two occasions late into the game with the final score 4-2 to the Rotterdammers. The misery continued for the visitors as they have just recorded one victory this season; however they have a game in hand on their bottom three rivals.




Leo Walker (36 Posts)