10-man AZ Alkmaar escaped Heerenveen with a 2-2 draw thanks to a last-minute own goal.
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The game in Friesland got off to a false start as fireworks set off in the stadium led to a delay of 22 minutes.
Once the game got underway again, AZ Alkmaar took the lead thanks to a header from Vangelis Pavlidis in the 19th minute. The striker was found by an excellent Denso Kasius cross and he nodded the ball over Andries Noppert.
The lead did not last long though, as a cross from Patrick Walemark was deflected into his own net by Jordy Clasie. Then before half-time, Kasius was shown a red card for a foul on Pawel Bochniewicz.
With a man extra, Heerenveen took the lead early in the second half through Luuk Brouwers, but they then failed to kill the game.
With a minute left on the clock, disaster struck for the hosts as Noppert shot the ball against teammate Bochniewicz and it ended up in the net. This gifted a point to AZ, who remain ahead of fifth-placed Ajax by a point.
Heerenveen sits 11th with the point.