Vitesse Arnhem will play in the Europa League next season after beating Heerenveen 5-2 on Sunday, which gave them a 7-4 aggregate win.
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Mark Uth had earned Heerenveen a 2-2 draw in the first leg midweek, and the striker got his side off to a great start on Sunday when he rounded Eloy Room and slotted into the net on three minutes.
Vitesse equalised eight minutes later when Guram Kashia flicked a header over Kristoffer Nordfeldt, but Uth’s volleyed finish, in what is probably his final game for the club, restored Heerenveen’s lead on 24 minutes. Vitesse were lucky to go into the break with ten men after a horrible challenge by Zakaria Labyad on Uth, but the midfielder somehow escaped unpunished.
Five minutes into the second half Bertrand Traore was brought down in the box and substitute Marko Vejinovic slammed the penalty into the top corner to make it 2-2, before Vitesse took the lead for the first time in the match on 77 minutes when Davy Propper’s deflected shot sneaked past Nordfeldt.
Labyad decided the game on 82 minutes with a fine strike into the top corner, and Jan-Arie van der Heijden added a five from close range before the end.
Vitesse become the 4th Dutch side in the Europa League next season, after Groningen, AZ and Go Ahead Eagles.
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