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Groningen have recorded a 3-0 victory over PSV in Sunday afternoon’s Eredivisie encounter at the Euroborg.

Hyun-Jun Suk gifted the hosts the lead in the first half with a good finish from a narrow angle, before Leandro Bacuna made it two after the break. PSV were then dealt another blow as Stanislav Manolev was dismissed after receiving his second booking. Again Suk put the match to bed halfway through the second half with a brilliant long range strike.

The guests started the match with attacking intentions and came close to opening the scoring early on. Nevertheless, Tim Matavz’s header after a cross from the right went just over the bar.

Groningen then took over the initiative and deservedly went ahead in the 29th minute. Suk cut inside from the right to play a quick one-two with Petter Andersson, before finding the net with a low shot from a narrow angle.

PSV almost restored parity shortly after via Dries Mertens, as the winger went past his direct opponent and unleashed a powerful shot in the near corner. However, Groningen goalkeeper Luciano showed his class with an excellent save to deny the Belgium international.

The home side doubled their lead in the second half after a superb counterattack. Dusan Tadic got the ball down the left after good work from David Texeira, and set up Bacuna with an intelligent pass through the middle. The youngster did not hesitate and found the net with a placed shot from the edge of the area.

The table-toppers were then reduced to ten men as Manolev received his second booking of the afternoon after being adjudged of diving inside the Groningen box.

Tadic missed a big chance to make it three for the Green-White Army around the hour-mark, but his powerful shot was saved by Andreas Isaksson. Nevertheless, Groningen did make it three in the 74th minute after some sloppy defending from PSV. Isaksson failed to properly clear a weak Zakaria Labyad back-pass, and Suk reacted alert before lobbing the goalkeeper from 45 yards out.

PSV still sit atop of the table with 45 points from 22 games, but they will drop to second position if AZ do not lose their game later on Sunday. The Eindhoven giants resume match action on Thursday when they host Trabzonspor in the Europa League.

Groningen climb to eighth spot in the table following this weekend’s result with 32 points. Their next Eredivisie match is the away game against NEC on February 26.

Article source: http://www.goal.com/en/news/462/netherlands/2012/02/19/2915446/groningen-3-0-psv-suk-double-and-bacuna-strike-down

Top sides PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar both suffered shock defeats in the Eredivisie, while Ajax were victorious.

Groningen moved into eighth after a surprisingly comfortable 3-0 win over Fred Rutten’s top-of-the-table PSV.

A brace from South Korean forward Suk Hyun-Jun and a Leandro Bacuna goal helped Groningen to the convincing home win.

The hosts took a 29th-minute lead when Suk played a one-two with Petter Andersson before striking into the bottom corner from a narrow angle.

A superb counter-attack had them 2-0 up, with Bacuna placing home from the edge of the area after a neat Dusan Tadic pass.

PSV’s hopes of getting anything out of the encounter took a blow just before the hour-mark when Bulgarian Stanislav Manolev was adjudged to have dived and consequently given his second yellow card.

Groningen wrapped up their win when PSV goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson only partially cleared a weak Zakaria Labyad back pass and Suk lobbed the shot-stopper from distance.

But PSV remain top after AZ Alkmaar, who are second on goal difference, suffered a 3-0 defeat at Utrecht.

Alexander Gerndt struck from the penalty spot after Niklas Moisander was sent off on 15 minutes, before the Swedish attacker netted a second.

Edouard Duplan made it 3-0 after 41 minutes, putting an end to the contest before the half-time break.

A comfortable 4-1 win over NEC Nijmegen sent Ajax into fifth spot.

Dmitri Bulykin hit a first-half brace as Jan Vertonghen and Siem de Jong also got on the scoresheet at Amsterdam Arena.

Rens van Eijden struck a 69th-minute consolation goal for the visitors, who are just four points clear of the relegation playoff spots.

Elsewhere, Twente crushed Vitesse 4-1 with Leroy Fer, Luuk de Jong, Ola John and Nacer Chadli all netting.

Twente had Peter Wisgerhof sent off after 80 minutes with Wilfried Bony missing a spot-kick for Vitesse, who pulled a goal back late in the encounter courtesy of substitute Mike Havenaar.

Article source: http://sportal.com.au/football-news-display/shock-losses-in-eredivisie-162274

19 February 2012 18:47

Top sides PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar both suffered shock defeats in the Eredivisie on Sunday, while Ajax were victorious.

Groningen moved into eighth after a surprisingly comfortable 3-0 win over Fred Rutten’s top-of-the-table PSV.

A brace from South Korean forward Suk Hyun-Jun and a Leandro Bacuna goal helped Groningen to the convincing home win.

The hosts took a 29th-minute lead when Suk played a one-two with Petter Andersson before striking into the bottom corner from a narrow angle.

A superb counter-attack had them 2-0 up, with Bacuna placing home from the edge of the area after a neat Dusan Tadic pass.

PSV’s hopes of getting anything out of the encounter took a blow just before the hour-mark when Bulgarian Stanislav Manolev was adjudged to have dived and consequently given his second yellow card.

Groningen wrapped up their win when PSV goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson only partially cleared a weak Zakaria Labyad back pass and Suk lobbed the shot-stopper from distance.

But PSV remain top after AZ Alkmaar, who are second on goal difference, suffered a 3-0 defeat at Utrecht.

Alexander Gerndt struck from the penalty spot after Niklas Moisander was sent off on 15 minutes, before the Swedish attacker netted a second.

Edouard Duplan made it 3-0 after 41 minutes, putting an end to the contest before the half-time break.

A comfortable 4-1 win over NEC Nijmegen sent Ajax into fifth spot.

Dmitri Bulykin hit a first-half brace as Jan Vertonghen and Siem de Jong also got on the scoresheet at Amsterdam Arena.

Rens van Eijden struck a 69th-minute consolation goal for the visitors, who are just four points clear of the relegation playoff spots.

Elsewhere, Twente crushed Vitesse 4-1 with Leroy Fer, Luuk de Jong, Ola John and Nacer Chadli all netting.

Twente had Peter Wisgerhof sent off after 80 minutes with Wilfried Bony missing a spot-kick for Vitesse, who pulled a goal back late in the encounter courtesy of substitute Mike Havenaar.

Article source: http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/February/19/eredivisie-wrap-shock-losses-for-psv-az

18 February 2012 23:40

Feyenoord were stunned by a late goal from Robert Braber on Saturday, which earned RKC Waalwijk a 1-1 draw in the Dutch Eredivisie.

A penalty from Swedish striker John Guidetti in the 77th minute looked to have won the game for the hosts but the Rotterdam-based club missed the chance to move level with third-placed Heerenveen on the league table when Braber headed home with three minutes to go.

Elsewhere, VVV Venlo scored four second-half goals to beat fellow strugglers De Graafschap 4-1.

The home side took the lead in the 13th minute through Rydell Poepon but after half-time VVV dominated.

Goals from Danny Holla, Maya Yoshida, Steven Berghuis and an own goal from Ted Van de Pavert completed the come-from-behind victory, meaning De Graafschap remain bottom of the league while VVV are still three points from safety.

In other Eredivisie results on Saturday, Heracles moved to within one point of Roda JC after beating the eighth-placed club 2-1 and ADO Den Haag drew 1-1 at home against Excelsior.

Article source: http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/February/18/eredivisie-wrap-feyenoord-stumble-vvv-enjoy-big-win

17 February 2012 22:04

A solitary Filip Djuricic goal was enough to hand Heerenveen a fifth consecutive Eredivisie win at the expense of NAC Breda.

Serb midfielder Djuricic struck in the 34th minute to secure the 1-0 victory for hosts Heerenveen, who saw off some late pressure from NAC to hold out for three points at Abe Lenstra Stadion.

The win moves Ron Jans’ third-placed side on to 43 points, two shy of joint leaders PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar who both have a game in hand.

A third straight defeat leaves NAC six points clear of the drop zone, though that gap can be halved if VVV Venlo win at De Graafschap on Saturday.

Article source: http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/February/17/eredivisie-heerenveen-1-nac-breda-0

EXCLUSIVE
By Ashish Sharma Stefan Coerts

Ajax coach Frank de Boer has stated his belief that it is impossible for the Amsterdam outfit to compete with the top teams in England, Germany, Italy and Spain again following the changes in European football in the 21st Century.

The Eredivisie giants were one of the biggest teams in Europe midway through the 1990s as they won the Uefa Cup in ’92, lifted the Champions League trophy in ’95, and reached the final again the following year.

However, Ajax have been unable to reproduce their successes from the 20th Century in the wake of the Bosman ruling and De Boer feels that the reigning Dutch champions have developed into a feeder cub in recent years because of the ever-increasing financial gap between the Eredivisie and the bigger leagues.

“A team like Manchester United have players such as Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, who play their entire career at the same club because there’s no next step after United. They’re already at one of the biggest clubs out there,” De Boer said to Goal.com.

“Ajax no longer have that luxury. The financial difference with the big clubs from England, Italy, Spain and Germany has become so big that we can no longer compete with these teams.

“We have become an academy for those clubs and we realise that. What we see these days is that players leave Ajax in their early twenties for a bigger salary elsewhere.”

De Boer then went on to say that the changes in European football make the club’s youth academy all the more important, but stressed that the presence of experienced players is crucial on the road to success, too.

“That is why our youth academy is so incredibly important for us. And maybe, if we have a bit of luck and have six or seven great youngsters coming through, plus perhaps two experienced players, we could do something in Europe.  

“If you really want to be able to compete with the big clubs in Europe, you need experienced players as well. Like the team that won the Champions League in 1995.

“I only left Ajax at the age of 29, and Frank Rijkaard was 34 or so when we won the Champions League, while Danny Blind, Jari Litmanen and Edwin van der Sar had a lot of experience as well. I was not at the same level when I was 22 that I would be at when I was 29.”

The former Netherlands international used Everton defender John Heitinga, who left Ajax for Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2008, as an example of the changed landscape in Europe that makes life so difficult for Ajax.

“Heitinga was developing into the leader of the team a few years ago and then left the club. We always have to start all over again with some very young players.

“I believe that players get more experienced around the age of 25, but we always have to rely on players who still need to learn a lot. That’s why we can no longer compete with the big teams.”

De Boer also took the time to discuss the internal problems at Ajax and stated that the supervisory board’s decision to approach Louis van Gaal for the position of CEO behind the back of Johan Cruyff was the wrong thing to do.

“He [Van Gaal] has a lot of experience and he would have loved to return to the club. What I did not understand though is that they went behind Johan Cruyff’s back.

“We all know that those two have some problems, so it was not a smart thing to do it like this. It would be fantastic if you could bring those two back together, but that’s almost impossible. It was not the right thing to do to appoint him behind Cruyff’s back.”

Van Gaal’s appointment was eventually prohibited by a local magistrate after Cruyff went to court over the matter and the club’s supervisory board consequently opted to resign.

“We have to find a new board and move on from there. The decision has been made to choose Cruyff’s side and we should follow his plans.”

Article source: http://my.news.yahoo.com/frank-boer-ajax-become-feeder-club-big-leagues-153254216--spt.html

Eredivisie leaders PSV will not take any risks with the health of forward Georginio Wijnaldum in Sunday’s home clash with RKC Waalwijk.

Wijnaldum received a nasty blow to the head in the KNVB-Beker clash with NEC Nijmegen last Thursday and sat out the weekend draw at Heracles.

And while he has shown signs of improvement, PSV coach Fred Rutten will take no chances with the 21-year-old.

He said: “Just after the collision the message was that he should not play for two weeks.

“Gini now has no problems, but we cannot take any risks. We see it day by day. I expect he will available for the away game against Trabzonspor in the Europa League next Thursday but I hope of course he will be okay for Sunday too.”

PSV will definitely be without Bulgarian defender Stanislav Manolev through suspension with Atiba Hutchinson a possible replacement.

PSV lead the table on goal difference from AZ Alkmaar, who moved level on points with last night’s 6-0 thrashing of ADO Den Haag.

AZ coach Gertjan Verbeek said: “We needed that. It was an excellent result and very good for the confidence.”

AZ could be top by the time PSV take the field as they play their weekend fixture, against struggling Excelsior, on Saturday while FC Twente, in third, open the weekend programme on Friday night at home to Heracles.

Ajax play on Saturday and will look to put another week of off-field turmoil behind them when they meet NAC in Breda.

The Amsterdammers today confirmed the club’s supervisory board were to resign en masse along with interim directors Danny Blind and Martin Sturkenboom.

The supervisory board has been split ever since four of the five members appointed Louis van Gaal as chief executive and Sturkenboom as a director.

The fifth member Johan Cruyff claimed he had not been consulted over the moves and filed a lawsuit which was partially upheld by an Amsterdam court on Tuesday.

Van Gaal and Sturkenboom’s appointments were blocked, at least in the short term, which prompted today’s announcement the entire board would leave in the “shortest possible time, once successors are found”.

Sturkenboom and Blind have also decided to leave following the news they would not be joined by Van Gaal.

Ajax have looked at sea on the pitch as well in recent weeks with no win from their last four games.

Also on Saturday, Roda JC and NEC meet in a mid-table clash while rock-bottom VVV-Venlo host FC Groningen seeking just their fourth league win of the season.

Sunday’s games see Heerenveen go to RKC Waalwijk, Feyenoord host Vitesse Arnhem and FC Utrecht meet ADO Den Haag.

Article source: http://www.soccer365.com/news/european_news/general/10866/weekend_eredivisie_preview

FEYENOORD

VITESSE

Feyenoord coach Ronald Koeman is without the injured Kaj Ramsteijn and Ricky van Haaren, but doesn’t have any other noteworthy injury worries.

Defenders Stefan de Vrij is fully match-fit again, but will likely start from the bench as Koeman will hold on to Bruno Martins Indi at centre-back.

Vitesse boss John van den Brom will have to make do without the services of Ghana international Anthony Annan and Ivory Coast star Wilfried Bony due to their Africa Cup of Nations obligations.

Additionally, young midfielder Davy Propper is still unavailable due to a knee problem.

• Feyenoord are currently sitting joint-fourth in the Eredivisie table with 37 points from 20 matches. 

• The hosts have won three out of their last four encounters with Vitesse.

• The Rotterdam giants’ first-choice striker John Guidetti (pictured) has the best goals-to-games ratio in the Eredivisie with 14 strikes in as many matches.

• Vitesse are the league’s number seven at the moment with 32 points from 20 games.

• Shot-stopper Piet Velthuizen has already kept eight clean sheets in 15 league appearances.

• The away side have scored only seven goals in 10 Eredivisie games away from their own Gelredome so far.

Article source: http://www.goal.com/en/news/1715/match-preview/2012/02/11/2898115/eredivisie-preview-feyenoord-vitesse

Eredivisie leaders PSV were forced to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw at Heracles on Sunday.

Fred Rutten’s side had the chance to move five points clear at the top of the league with a win in Almelo and they looked on their way after just 19 minutes.

Jetro Willems provided the assist for Zakaria Labyad to score the opener and it was an advantage they took into the half-time break.

But Heracles salvaged a point when Everton struck in the 76th minute.

Ajax’s poor season continued as they were stunned 2-0 at home by lowly Utrecht.

Edouard Duplan netted on 40 minutes after a howler from Ajax goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer, and the French winger added a second after a quick counterattack in the second half.

The win was Utrecht’s first away in any competition since September.

Ajax have dropped to sixth in the table following their loss, with 34 points from 20 games.

Meanwhile, goals to Otman Bakkal and Guyon Fernandez helped Feyenoord to a 2-0 triumph at NEC Nijmegen while RKC Waalwijk also won well on the road, defeating FC Groningen 3-0.

Article source: http://sportal.com.au/football-news-display/eredivisie-psv-stay-top-159878

12 February 2012 19:04

Four first-half goals guided PSV Eindhoven to a 4-1 win over De Graafschap and back to the top of Eredivisie on Sunday.

Dries Mertens opened the scoring for PSV in just the eighth minute from the penalty spot.

The hosts extended their lead through goals from Ola Toivonen and Tim Matavz, before a Jeremain Lens strike in the 43rd minute made it 4-0 at the interval.

Gil Vermouth pegged one back in the 52nd minute for the visitors, who remain at the foot of the table.

Utrecht and ADO Den Haag shared the points at Nieuw Galgewaard in a 1-1 draw.

Frank Demouge put the hosts ahead on the half-hour mark but Lex Immers was on hand after a goal-mouth scramble to draw ADO level two minutes before half-time.

Rajiv Van La Parra scored five minutes before half-time to give Heerenveen a 1-0 win at RKC Waalwijk.

Van La Parra’s strike ensured Heerenveen stay fourth, level with Feyenoord, who defeated Vitesse 3-1.

A John Guidetti hat-trick was the highlight of Feyenoord’s win.

Guidetti struck the opening goal in the 12th minute and added a penalty on 31 minutes to make it 2-0.

Nicky Hofs pulled one back for Vitesse before Guidetti completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute.

Article source: http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/February/12/eredivisie-wrap-psv-reclaim-top-spot