© EuroFootball.com
On Friday and Saturday, 5 games of the Dutch "Eredivisie" were played for the 7th round. After a series of goals in the last round, on Friday the players of "Twente" defeated the league's underdog "Den Haag" this time, while on Saturday the team of Amsterdam's "Ajax" barely defeated "Groningen", "NAC" lost to "NEC", "AZ" dealt with "Sparta" and "Vitesse" celebrated victory with a minimal result in a match with "Willem".
The 7th round opened on Friday with the only match between the league's underdog "Den Haag" and the excellent performing players of "Twente" in the last round.
Although "Twente" was considered the favorite of this competition, the first goal was scored by the home team, when Michael Mols scored in the 38th minute. In the second half, "Den Haag" defender Stijn Vreven handled the ball in the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty kick and made a drastic decision - he showed the player a red card, leaving the hosts to play with ten players.
Blaise N'Kufo, one of the most productive "Twente" players, quickly made a run and without waiting sent the ball into the net guarded by "Den Haag" goalkeeper Robert Zwinkels. Still, "Twente" showed their endurance and in the 74th minute Kennedy Bakircioglu scored the winning goal in this match.
This victory raised the "Twente" team to fourth place in the league table, while "Den Haag" remains penultimate.
On Saturday, the most interesting match took place in Amsterdam, where the local "Ajax" met the club of "Groningen" who were performing excellently this season. In the first half, both teams failed to prove their superiority: the half ended in a 0-0 draw.
However, in the second half, the goals started to rain. The home team scored first, when in the 51st minute Netherlands national team forward Ryan Babel put his club ahead. But "Groningen" soon equalized the score, when a penalty kick was awarded to "Ajax" and Evgeny Levchenko hit it to level the score.
Just five minutes later, the visitors took the lead, when Luis Suarez scored for the second time. However, in the 74th minute rising star R. Babel equalized the score, and realizing that they could snatch three points, "Ajax" defender Urby Emanuelson gifted a very important victory not only to the team, but also to the spectators gathered in the "ArenA" in Amsterdam.
After this victory, "Ajax" continues to lead the Dutch championship, while "Groningen" also maintains the third position.
One of the championship leaders, Alkmaar's "AZ", clashed weapons with Rotterdam's "Sparta". Here, a completely opposite scenario unfolded compared to the match between "Ajax" and "Groningen". The victory was claimed by the "AZ" team with a score of 2-0, with Gretar Steinsson scoring in the 55th minute, and Danny Koevermans adding a point at the end of the match.
The "AZ" club has now won their fifth victory in these championships and is one point behind the leader "Ajax", while "Sparta" remains at the bottom of the league standings.
In the other matches in Breda, the home team "NAC" hosted guests from Nijmegen "NEC". The first goal was scored by the guests, when Romano Denneboom scored in the 17th minute. Four minutes later, "NAC" goalkeeper Edwin Zoetebier had to pull the ball out of his net for the second time, as the same R. Denneboom overcame him.
With seven points out of fifteen, "NEC" footballers moved up to twelfth place and overtaken "NAC" due to a better goal difference.
In the last matches on Saturday, "Vitesse" and "Willem" met in Arnhem. Here, the only goal was scored by the home team. At the end of the first half, in the 45th minute, Onur Kaya overpowered the "Willem" goalkeeper.
"Vitesse" now occupies the 10th place with 9 points, while "Willem" remains in 16th place.
Results of Friday and Saturday:
"Den Haag" 1 - 2 "Twente"
38‘ [1 - 0] Michael Mols
58‘ [1 - 1] Blaise N‘Kufo (pen.)
74‘ [1 - 2] Kennedy Bakircioglu
57‘ Stijn Vreven ("Den Haag") sent off the field
"Ajax" 3 - 2 "Groningen"
51‘ [1 - 0] Ryan Babel
56‘ [1 - 1] Evgeny Levchenko (pen.)
60‘ [1 - 2] Luis Suarez
74‘ [2 - 2] Ryan Babel
80‘ [3 - 2] Urby Emanuelson
"Sparta" 0 - 2 "AZ"
55‘ [0 - 1] Gretar Steinsson
79‘ [0 - 2] Danny Koevermans
"NAC" 0 - 2 "NEC"
17‘ [0 - 1] Romano Denneboom
21‘ [0 - 2] Romano Denneboom
"Vitesse" 1 - 0 "Willem"
45‘ [1 - 0] Onur Kaya
