There were four games in the Eredivisie on Sunday and below is a round up of all the action.
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Heracles Almelo 8-2 PEC Zwolle
In a remarkable tie, bottom of the table Heracles Almelo netted eight time to defeat 10-man PEC Zwolle.
Heracles showed signs of life in midweek when they defeated NAC Breda in the cup but they fell behind in the ninth minute when Kaj de Rooij netted.
However, Jizz Hornkamp then turned the tie around and a hattrick within the space of 14 minutes put Heracles in a comfortable position. That position became even more safe when Nick Fichtinger conceded a penalty in the 38th minute earning him his second yellow card and Luka Kulenovic made it 4-1 from the spot.
In the second half, Mike te Wierik headed in a fifth before both Bryan Limbombe and Alec Van Hoorenbeeck scored to make it 7-1. De Rooij pounced on an error to make it 7-2 but there was still time for Thomas Bruns to add another goal.
A remarkable victory for the hosts who remain bottom while PEC Zwolle is in 16th.
Groningen 1-1 Twente
Groningen failed to take their chances as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Twente.
The hosts were completely dominant in the first half but they couldn’t take one of their many chances. Thom van Bergen missed a great opportunity from close range, while Marvin Peersman was denied by Lars Unnerstall.
In the second half, the inevitable happened as FC Twente toook the lead through Kristian Hlynsson, who punished Groningen with a goal from close range.
A foul by Robin Propper earned the hosts a penalty and Stije Resink made it 1-1 from the penalty spot.
Before the end, Twente almost snatched all three points but the crossbar denied Marko Pjaca.
Groningen is in fifth and Twente in ninth.
Sparta Rotterdam 0-1 AZ Alkmaar
Kees Smit scored the only goal of the game as AZ Alkmaar took all three points in Rotterdam.
Joel Drommel was in great form to deny AZ Alkmaar an opener early on and he denied Troy Parrott from the penalty spot. It was the third straight penalty in a row that AZ have missed.
It seemed Sparta were going to keep the visitors out until Smit found the bottom corner with a strike from range to win it for AZ.
Before the end there was a nice moment for Jelani Seedorf, the nephew of Clarence, who was handed his debut by the hosts. The 20-year-old is a powerful centre-forward.
AZ Alkmaar remains third while Sparta is in 7th.
Utrecht 1-0 NEC Nijmegen
Utrecht has moved up to sixth with a slender victory over NEC Nijmegen.
The visitors had the better of the first half but the opening goal fell for Utrecht just before the break. A counter attack ended at the feet of Miguel Rodriguez, who slotted in.
Utrecht missed chances early in the second half to kill the game and it seemed that NEC were going to snatch a point when they were awarded a penalty. However, Tjarron Chery’s spot kick came back off the crossbar.
Utrecht held on for the victory, while NEC is in 8th.
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