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On Sunday, the last five matches of the 11th round of the Dutch "Eredivisie" championship took place. The leaders of the competition celebrated victories: "Ajax" crushed "Heracles", "AZ" defeated "RKC", "Feyenoord" narrowly beat "Vitesse", "Heerenveen" beat "Sparta", and the match between "Utrecht" and "Twente" ended in a goalless draw.
In Almelo, the local team "Heracles" hosted guests from Amsterdam, "Ajax". The visitors only managed to break the hosts' resistance at the end of the first half, when in the 39th minute Kenneth Perez's accurate shot put "Ajax" in the lead. At the beginning of the second half, "Ajax" had to play with ten men, as the main pillar of the team's defense, John Heitinga, was sent off for rough play.
The hosts had plenty of time to take advantage of this numerical superiority, but a penalty kick awarded to "Heracles" in the closing minutes ruined everything. The penalty was calmly converted by Kenneth Perez, who scored his second goal of the match, and with three minutes remaining, Wesley Sneijder, one of the team’s leaders, sealed the victory for the Amsterdammers.
After this victory, "Ajax" continues to occupy the top spot in the standings, leading "PSV" by two points. Meanwhile, "Heracles" drops to 12th place.
In another match at the Waalwijk stadium, the hosts "RKC" faced the threatening Alkmaar team "AZ". The visitors took the initiative right away and quickly achieved their goal, as Moussa Dembele beat "RKC" goalkeeper Rob van Dijk in the 6th minute. Just before the end of the first half, striker Danny Koevermans increased his team's lead. After this victory, "AZ" maintained third place, while "RKC" remains in 16th position.
In another exciting match, Rotterdam's "Feyenoord" clashed with Arnhem's "Vitesse". The hosts broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute after a precise shot from defender Luiz Andre Bahia. In the second half, Danko Lazovic scored for "Vitesse", but ten minutes later, Theo Lucio’s goal sealed the victory for the home team. After this win, "Feyenoord" rises to sixth place, while "Vitesse" drops to 14th.
In the final match, "Heerenveen" faced league strugglers "Sparta". Fans had to wait about half an hour for a goal, as "Heerenveen" defender Lasse Nilsson broke the deadlock. The team's victory was sealed in the 54th minute by Alfonso Alves. "Heerenveen" remains in eighth place with 16 points, while "Sparta" continues to be the absolute bottom of the league.
In the other match between "Utrecht" and "Twente", the score ended 0-0.
Results of Sunday's Dutch "Eredivisie" league matches:
"Heracles" 0 – 3 "Ajax" 39‘ [0 – 1] Kenneth Perez 81‘ [0 – 2] Kenneth Perez (pen.) 87‘ [0 – 3] Wesley Seijder 52‘ John Heitinga ("Ajax") sent off
"RKC" 0 – 2 "AZ" 6‘ [0 – 1] Moussa Dembele 31‘ [0 – 2] Danny Koevermans
"Feyenoord" 2 – 1 "Vitesse" 23‘ [1 – 0] Luiz Andre Bahia 59‘ [1 – 1] Danko Lazovic 70‘ [2 – 1] Theo Lucio
"Heerenveen" 2 – 0 "Sparta" 29‘ [1 – 0] Lasse Nilsson 54‘ [2 – 0] Alfonso Alves
"Utrecht" 0 – 0 "Twente"
