There were four matches in the Eredivisie on Saturday and below is a round up of all the action.
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NEC Nijmegen 1-1 Willem II
Willem II’s chances of avoiding the relegation playoffs were dealt a blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw by NEC Nijmegen.
Peter Maes was sacked as head coach of Willem II this week and Kristof Aelbrecht stepped in to take charge of the game against NEC. After only one minute, Calvin Verdonk converted a cross into his own net and Willem II had the lead.
The first half was overshadowed by a horrible clash of heads involving Dirk Proper and Koki Ogawa. Proper had to be stretchered off and was taken to hospital. Reports state he is conscious.
In the second half, NEC pushed and eventually the equaliser came in the 83rd minute. Kenti Shiogai headed in a free kick.
The match ended in a draw and NEC is 13th and Willem II is 16th. With three games left, Willem II are six points off safety and the relegation playoffs now seem inevitable.
Heracles Almelo 1-4 Feyenoord
Feyenoord remains in pole position for third spot after a simple 4-1 win over Heracles Almelo.
Robin van Persie’s side had the lead within ten minutes as Anis Hadj-Moussa found the net from a difficult angle. The winger then doubled the lead with his strike too strong for Fabian de Keijzer.
Feyenoord were completely dominant and in stoppage time of the first half, Hwang In-Beom fired in a third.
Antoni Milambo hit the post early in the second half before Luka Kulenovic pulled one back for Heracles. It was nothing more than a consolation and Givairo Read quickly restored Feyenoord’s three goal lead.
Feyenoord moves three points clear of Utrecht and they still have a chance of finishing second. Heracles is 12th.
Groningen 6-1 RKC Waalwijk
RKC Waalwijk’s relegation is almost certain after a 6-1 loss at European playoff-chasing Groningen.
Realistically, RKC had to win to have any real chance of avoiding the bottom two but they came up against a Groningen side in good form. After a handball in the box, Leandro Bacuna made it 1-0 for Groningen from the penalty spot in the seventh minute.
Chris Lokesa missed two big chances in first half for RKC before Stije Resink headed in a corner kick from Bacuna to double the lead.
RKC then collapsed at the start of the second half with Noam Emeran firing in an excellent third before Resink got the fourth and his second.
An excellent curled strike from Thom van Bergen made it 5-0 before Godfried Roemeratoe pulled one back for RKC. After a fortunate bounce, Mats Seuntjens made it 6-1 at the end.
Groningen move back to ninth which is a playoff spot while RKC are bottom. They are six points from safety with three games left to go.
PSV Eindhoven 4-1 Fortuna Sittard
PSV Eindhoven has increased the pressure on leaders Ajax after a comfortable 4-1 win over Fortuna Sittard.
Ivan Peresic was the hero for PSV on the night and he got his first on 15 minutes with a strike on the rebound. The winger then doubled the lead before the break after an error from Ryan Fosso.
Noa Lang fired in a third early in the second half before Fortuna pulled one back through Jasper Dahlhaus.
Luuk de Jong hit the crossbar and Joey Veerman missed a sitter before Peresic completed his hattrick in the 73rd minute. De Jong stepped over a Guus Til cross and Peresic was there to net.
PSV are now four points behind Ajax and five points ahead of Feyenoord. Next weekend, Feyenoord and PSV meet. Fortuna is tenth.
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