On Friday evening, ADO Den Haag took a huge step towards the Keuken Kampioen Divisie title. The Hague side came from 0-2 down to secure a 4-2 victory, whilst SC Cambuur suffered a painful 3-0 defeat at VVV-Venlo.
ADO Den Haag - Jong Ajax 4-2
Jong Ajax, currently nineteenth in the table, got off to a flying start in The Hague. Óscar García’s side even took a 0-2 lead away at the league leaders. Skye Vink opened the scoring after fifteen minutes. The young striker kept his cool when one-on-one with ADO goalkeeper Kilian Nikiema and slotted the ball neatly into the corner: 0-1.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, the Amsterdam youngsters struck again: Abdellah Ouazane launched a counter-attack, and Don O’Niel made no mistake either: 0-2. That comfortable lead was soon wiped out by the home side.
A shot from Daryl van Mieghem made it 1-2 just two minutes later, and the score was level at 2-2 before half-time. Following a cross from the left, it was Jinairo Johnson who turned the ball into his own net.
Immediately after the break, ADO took the lead for the first time in the match. Juho Kilo made fine use of a gift from Tijn Peters. In the final quarter, Steven van der Sloot sealed the final score: 4-2.
VVV-Venlo - SC Cambuur 3-0
SC Cambuur had already secured promotion under outgoing manager Henk de Jong, but saw their chances of winning the league title dwindle considerably on Friday evening. Whilst ADO made no mistake at home against Jong Ajax, Cambuur suffered a defeat in distant Venlo.
Dean Zandbergen was crowned the man of the match at De Koel. The VVV striker had already scored for the Venlo side in the first and final fifteen minutes, and in the closing stages he even capped off his performance with a hat-trick: 3-0. The gap to leaders ADO has thus grown to no fewer than seven points.
Almere City - TOP Oss 3-2
Almere City are still in the hunt for a play-off spot, and with a 3-2 victory over TOP Oss on Friday evening, the Flevoland side took a step in the right direction. Goals from Emanuel Poku, Julian Rijkhoff and Olivier de Nijs gave Jeroen Rijsdijk’s side a 3-1 lead. Mauresmo Hinoke’s consolation goal came just too late.
FC Dordrecht - Roda JC Kerkrade 0-3
Anthony van den Hurk was once again the man of the moment for Roda JC, who ultimately defeated FC Dordrecht 0-3. With goals in the 19th and 24th minutes, Van den Hurk paved the way for the Kerkrade side, who – thanks to a further goal from Iman Griffith – comfortably triumphed over De Schapenkoppen.
FC Eindhoven - De Graafschap 2-2
A madcap closing stages in Eindhoven, where De Graafschap lost third place to Willem II on Friday evening. For 65 minutes, there was little to enjoy in the City of Light, until Sven Simons opened the scoring from a pass by Tyrese Simons. The closing stages were packed with drama. Kyano Kwint made it 1-1 in the 82nd minute, but in the 87th minute, the aforementioned Simons thought he had secured all three points for FC Eindhoven. Nothing could be further from the truth, as in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Kwint salvaged a point for the Superboeren.
MVV Maastricht - RKC Waalwijk 1-3
RKC Waalwijk struck twice with force in the first half. Jesper Uneken converted a penalty and Harrie Kuster doubled the lead. Both players scored for the fourth match in a row. MVV fought their way back and it was Travis de Jong, on loan from SC Paderborn, who found the net in the left corner. Shortly before that, MVV coach Peter van den Berg had been sent to the stands after receiving two yellow cards. RKC were not rattled by the 1-2, with Nazjir Held tapping in the 1-3 from close range.
Willem II - Jong PSV 1-0
Thomas Verheydt scored from a rebound, putting Willem II 1-0 up within ten minutes. Jong PSV were the better side for the remainder of the first half and were unlucky when Mounir El Allouchi hit the post. It remained a tense and fairly even affair after the break, but no further goals were scored. A narrow victory, then, for Willem II on home turf.
Vitesse - FC Emmen 3-3
No fewer than four goals in the first half in Arnhem. Naoufal Bannis opened the scoring in the first minute and Alexander Büttner converted a penalty shortly afterwards. Lukas Larsen pulled one back for FC Emmen, heading home from a corner. Vitesse restored their two-goal lead through Büttner, who saw a powerful shot fly in off the post. Romano Postema brought the tension back shortly after the restart and Chiel Sunder levelled the score following a scramble. A spectacular draw, then, at the Gelredome.
Jong AZ - Helmond Sport 2-0
Anthony Smits made it 1-0 for Jong AZ following a blunder in the Helmond defence. In the closing stages of the first half, Bendegúz Kovács extended the lead to 2-0 for the Alkmaar reserves. A heavy blow for Helmond Sport, who did try to get back into the game in the second half but were unable to make it a close contest in Wijdewormer.