Utrecht came away from Sparta Rotterdam with a 2-1 victory thanks to two first-half penalties.
- Follow Football-Oranje on Twitter
Last weekend, Utrecht booked a 3-0 victory PSV Eindhoven and they headed to Rotterdam full of confidence.
After only seven minutes, they were awarded a penalty when goalkeeper Ariel Harush, in for the suspended Tim Coremans, brought down Jean-Christophe Bahebeck. The French striker slotted in the spot-kick to make it 1-0.
After 20 minutes, Sparta equalised when Ragner Ache got ahead of Willem Janssen to head in from close range.
Just before the break, Utrecht were awarded a second penalty for a handball by Mohamed Rayhi. This time, Harush denied Bahebeck but the goalkeeper was punished for coming off his line too soon. Adam Maher took the retake and made it 2-1.
After the break, Sparta went in search of an equaliser but the closest they came was a Jurgen Mattheij effort that was cleared from the line by Maher.
Utrecht held on for the victory which moves them to fifth. Sparta are 10th.