Ricky van Wolfswinkel hit a hat-trick as Vitesse Arnhem beat Heerenveen 4-2.
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The visitors arrived in Arnhem confident after ending their winless run in midweek with a 3-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam. However, they found themselves 2-0 down after only fifteen minutes as Vitesse tore the Heerenveen defence apart.
Firstly on five minutes, a swift Vitesse move ended with Navarone Foor bursting into the box and slotting his shot past Erwin Mulder. Ten minutes later, Ricky van Wolfswinkel headed a corner into the net to double the lead.
Van Wolfswinkel hit the bar as Vitesse threatened to run riot but just after the half-hour mark, Heerenveen gave themselves hope through Luciano Slagveer who rounded off a swift counter-attack.
Heerenveen started the second half brightly with Slagveer missing a great chance to equalise. Then on 70 minutes, Vitesseextended their lead as Alexander Büttner set up Van Wolfwinkel for a tap-in. Five minutes later, van Wolfswinkel sealed his hat-trick with another close range finish.
Sam Larsson pulled one back with a stunning long range strike but that was nothing more than a consolation for Heerenveen. Vitesse close within two points of fourth placed Utrecht, while Heerenveen remain eighth.