Heerenveen are in pole position for the last European playoff spot after they defeated Vitesse Arnhem 2-1.

Vitesse had the first big chance of the game but Thomas Buitink could not take it as the striker hammered the ball over the bar after only three minutes.

The game then had a large stoppage as Richard Martens looked at a challenge by Tibor Halilovic on Matús Bero. However, he eventually decided to stick with a yellow card and not send the midfielder off. Moments later, the game was stopped again because of smoke bombs being thrown on the pitch by Vitesse fans.

When the game got back underway, Anas Tahiri hit the crossbar for Heerenveen before Vitesse were awarded a penalty in stoppage time for a foul by Milan van Ewijk. VAR asked Martens to look at his decision but he stuck with a penalty. Bero netted to make it 1-0 at the break.

Out of the blue, Heerenveen equalised with 25 minutes left as Amin Sarr was allowed freedom to slot the ball past Markus Schubert. Eight minutes later, Sarr struck again to turn the game around and seal a big victory for the Frisian side.

Heerenveen climbs to eighth and they can still hope for a European playoff spot. Vitesse are 6th.




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