Train TicketsArchive for the ‘Eredivisie’ Category
Football: Eredivisie wrap: Ajax close in on title
April 26th, 2012 | 
Author: Ajax have moved another step closer to back-to-back Eredivisie titles with a clinical 2-0 win over Groningen on Sunday.
Derk Boerrigter and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson scored for the hosts who moved six points clear of Feyenoord and Alkmaar after the win.
Christian Eriksen had the best chance for Ajax in a first half bereft of chances but their dominance of possession turned into a goal when Boerrigter reacted to Siem de Jong’s rebounded effort.
Boerrigter saw a chip go over and another shot spray wide before Sigthorsen sealed the win 10 minutes from time when he guided home de Jong’s ball.
AZ Alkmaar stayed in pursuit of Ajax after Jose Altidore’s header gave them a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened VVV.
The American scored the winner in the 65th minute to keep Alkmaar within six points of Ajax after Quin Kruijsen had cancelled out Australian Brett Holman’s opener.
Feyenoord held on against Den Haag in a 2-1 away win after taking a two-goal lead.
Ruben Schaken and Guyon Fernandez put the visitors ahead after a goalless first half but they endured a nervy finale following Lex Immers’ converted penalty in the 90th minute.
PSV remain within seven points of Ajax after their 2-1 win over NEC Nijmegen.
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scored two minutes from time to seal the come-from-behind win and ensure PSV stay within one point of Alkmaar, Feyenoord and FC Twente for the Champions League playoff spot, if neither can catch Ajax.
Article source: http://sportal.com.au/news-display/eredivisie-wrap-ajax-close-in-on-title-172977
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Eredivisie wrap: Ajax close in on title
Ajax have moved another step closer to back-to-back Eredivisie titles with a clinical 2-0 win over Groningen on Sunday.
Derk Boerrigter and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson scored for the hosts who moved six points clear of Feyenoord and Alkmaar after the win.
Christian Eriksen had the best chance for Ajax in a first half bereft of chances but their dominance of possession turned into a goal when Boerrigter reacted to Siem de Jong’s rebounded effort.
Boerrigter saw a chip go over and another shot spray wide before Sigthorsen sealed the win 10 minutes from time when he guided home de Jong’s ball.
AZ Alkmaar stayed in pursuit of Ajax after Jose Altidore’s header gave them a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened VVV.
The American scored the winner in the 65th minute to keep Alkmaar within six points of Ajax after Quin Kruijsen had cancelled out Australian Brett Holman’s opener.
Feyenoord held on against Den Haag in a 2-1 away win after taking a two-goal lead.
Ruben Schaken and Guyon Fernandez put the visitors ahead after a goalless first half but they endured a nervy finale following Lex Immers’ converted penalty in the 90th minute.
PSV remain within seven points of Ajax after their 2-1 win over NEC Nijmegen.
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scored two minutes from time to seal the come-from-behind win and ensure PSV stay within one point of Alkmaar, Feyenoord and FC Twente for the Champions League playoff spot, if neither can catch Ajax.
Article source: http://sportal.com.au/football-news-display/eredivisie-wrap-ajax-close-in-on-title-172977
Eredivisie wrap: Chadli wins it late for Twente
FC Twente kept the pressure on Eredivisie leaders Ajax with a 1-0 win at Excelsior on Saturday.
Steve McClaren’s side now sit second on the table, four points behind Ajax with three matches to play.
Twente left it late at already-relegated Excelsior, with Belgian substitute Nacer Chadli getting the winner in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
Chadli’s 92nd-minute strike was set up by Leroy Fer and condemned Excelsior to their eighth loss from their past nine league fixtures.
Meanwhile, Heerenveen missed a chance to go third as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Vitesse.
Serbian midfielder Filip Duricic gave the hosts the lead after just five minutes before Japanese substitute Mike Havenaar levelled with just 11 minutes left to give seventh-placed Vitesse a point.
The draw leaves Heerenveen in fourth place on goal difference behind AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord, who both play on Sunday.
In other results, a nine-man Heracles won 3-2 at De Graafschap while Utrecht scored twice in the last 13 minutes to edge RKC Waalwijk 2-0 and guarantee another season in the Dutch top-flight.
Article source: http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/April/22/eredivisie-wrap-chadli-wins-it-late-for-twente
Van der Vaart: I will play in the Eredivisie again
Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has revealed that he wants to play in the Eredivisie again before his career comes to an end.
The 29-year-old still has two years remaining on his current contract with Tottenham following his arrival in 2010. But the Netherlands international admitted he has already decided that he will return to his homeland one day.
“I see it as an obligation to play football once again in the Netherlands,” Van der Vaart told Voetbal International. “I have a feeling I have to give something back to the Eredivisie, for what it has meant to me.”
Van der Vaart came through the ranks at Ajax, before moving on to Hamburg. Some impressive displays in the Bundesliga earned him a big move to Real Madrid, where he played with fellow countrymen Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben.
It was a coup for Spurs manager Harry Redknapp when he signed in the summer of 2010 and he has settled in well to life in London, scoring 22 goals in 56 appearances.
Article source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/sow/SIG=12ijgkk0g/*http://sports.yahoo.com/news/van-der-vaart-play-eredivisie-153100802--sow.html
Siem de Jong: It would be great to secure Eredivisie title against Twente
Siem de Jong hopes that Ajax can secure the Eredivisie title in the match against title rivals Twente on April 29.
The Godenzonen beat Twente 3-1 in May 2011 to pip the Tukkers to the league title last season, and De Jong is keen to repeat last term’s heroics in the 2011-12 campaign.
“We want to secure the league title as soon as possible, preferably in the match against Twente. I’d love it if we could wrap up the title against them,” De Jong said to Goal.com. “We already won the title after a direct confrontation with them once before, and it would be great if we could do it again.
“We realise that we’re not there yet though. We have to win the next few games. If we start spilling points now, the other teams will get hope again.”
Ajax currently sits first in the Eredivisie table with 64 points from 30 games, six points ahead of joint runners-up AZ and Feyenoord. Twente is the league’s number four with 57 points.
De Jong has been a key figure at Ajax this term, scoring 11 times in 25 league appearances.
Article source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/siem-jong-great-secure-eredivisie-175000588--sow.html
Eredivisie Round 30 Results: Ajax go six points clear
KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 (Bernama) — A local teenage girl and an Indonesianman were killed at a night market in Wira Damai, Gombak, here tonight. In the 8.15pm incident, the suspect, believed to be another Indonesian man,had accidently stabbed the girl, who was shopping at the night market, whilechasing after his countryman, Mohamad Hasir, 30. Gombak police chief, ACP Abdul Rahim Abdullah, said the suspect managed tocatch up with Mohamad Hasir and stabbed him five times, including on his neck,shoulder, …
Article source: http://my.news.yahoo.com/eredivisie-round-30-results-ajax-six-points-clear-194100510--soccer.html
Eredivisie wrap: Rare win for De Graafschap
De Graafschap recorded a shock 3-0 win over Utrecht in the Eredivisie on Thursday, while VVV-Venlo lost again.
A brace from Michael de Leeuw helped struggling De Graafschap end a run of six consecutive defeats with the comfortable home triumph at De Vijverberg.
The win sees Richard Roelofsen’s men off the bottom of the table, but they are still 11 points from moving out of the relegation play-off spots, while Utrecht are eight points clear of 16th-placed Venlo.
De Graafschap were on top from the outset and took a 22nd-minute lead through Rydell Poepon, who fired home a rebound after goalkeeper Erik Cummins failed to deal with a Jan-Paul Saeijs cross.
De Leeuw doubled his team’s advantage just after the hour mark when he headed in a Gil Vermouth corner, and he added a second in the 88th minute.
VVV slumped to their fifth straight loss, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Vitesse, who consolidated seventh spot.
Alexander Buttner, Wilfried Bony and Nicky Hofs were on the scoresheet for the victors.
Yanic Wildschut pulled a goal back for VVV to make it 2-1 in the 52nd minute, but Hofs sealed all three points for the visitors in additional time.
ADO Den Haag moved seven points clear of the bottom three thanks to a 3-0 victory at home to Groningen.
Charlton Vicento put the home side ahead in the 38th minute, before Kenneth Omeruo and Euzebiusz Smolarek added goals in the second half.
Article source: http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/April/13/eredivisie-wrap-rare-win-for-de-graafschap
Eredivisie wrap: Ajax extend advantage
Ajax extended their lead atop the Eredivise to three points after routing Heerenveen on Wednesday, while AZ dropped points against Twente.
Frank De Boer’s Ajax were in superb form as they ran out 5-0 winners at Abe Lenstra Stadion, with first-half goals to Theo Janssen, Ismail Aissati and a Siem de Jong brace handing them a 4-0 lead at half-time.
De Jong completed his hat-trick in the 63rd minute as the Amsterdam giants took a major step towards retaining their title.
With two points separating them and Ajax heading into the midweek fixtures, AZ were under pressure to stay in touch with the leaders but could only manage a 2-2 draw against Twente.
Jozy Altidor openend the scoring for hosts AZ inside the opening passages of play but the US international’s goal was cancelled out by Luuk de Jong in the 31st minute.
Altidor restored his side’s lead with 20 minutes remaining, only for Emir Bajrami to salvage a point for the visitors in injury time.
PSV’s title hopes also took a potentially decisive blow, with the Eindhoven club succumbing to a shock 2-1 defeat at RKC Waalwijk.
Sander Duits and Mitchell Schet gave Waalwijk a 2-0 lead after scoring in the 55th and 57th minutes respectively, with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink’s 86th-minute strike coming too late for PSV, who trail Ajax by seven points.
Elsewhere, NAC Breda lost out 2-1 to Heracles at home, while Feyenoord were held to a scoreless draw at Roda JC.
Article source: http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/April/11/eredivisie-wrap-ajax-extend-advantage
DE JONG BOOST FOR FC TWENTE
FC Twente could have top scorer Luuk de Jong back for Wednesday’s crunch Eredivisie clash with AZ Alkmaar.
Dutch international De Jong, the scorer of 20 league goals for Steve McClaren’s men this season, trained today and is set to return after missing the last two games with an ankle problem.
“The ankle feels good, I have no more trouble,” De Jong told tctubantia.nl.
His availability would be welcome for McClaren with captain Peter Wisgerhof set to miss out after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury.
Goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov, Leroy Fer and Thilo Leugers are all injury doubts while both Wout Brama and Willem Janssen are suspended.
Twente go into the game in third, two points behind AZ Alkmaar, who themselves are a point adrift of leaders Ajax.
The Amsterdammers head to Heerenveen chasing a ninth successive win in all competitions.
Fourth-placed PSV Eindhoven are just four points off top spot and still in contention.
They go to RKC Waalwijk on Wednesday buoyed by their 3-0 defeat of Heracles in the final of the KNVB Beker on Sunday.
But midfielder Kevin Strootman is demanding they retrain their focus on to league matters as soon as possible.
“For many guys, including myself, this is the first prize in their careers,” he said.
“This win against Heracles gives us a happy feeling.
“But on Wednesday we go to RKC and that is where the focus should now lie.
“We need to win all our matches in the league and hope our competitors drop points.”
Feyenoord will look to maintain their Europa League challenge when they visit Roda JC while Wednesday’s other game sees Heracles at NAC Breda as they bid to bounce back from their weekend disappointment.
The midweek action starts tomorrow with Excelsior hosting NEC Nijmegen.
Excelsior go into the game second from bottom and with time running out on their bid to avoid the relegation play-offs.
They are 11 points from safety but just two above rock-bottom De Graafschap, who are staring at automatic relegation.
De Graafschap do not play until Thursday when they meet FC Utrecht in Doetinchem.
Also on Thursday, ADO Den Haag host FC Groningen and Vitesse Arnhem visit struggling VVV-Venlo.
Article source: http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/12/04/09/SOCCER_Eredivisie_Preview.html&BID=165
Cocu: PSV want Dutch Cup prize
Caretaker boss Phillip Cocu says victory in Sunday’s KNVB Beker final is just as important to PSV Eindhoven as winning the Eredivisie title.
Cocu’s men head into the match against Heracles Almelo at Rotterdam’s De Kuip stadium fresh from a 2-0 victory over VVV-Venlo that left the club four points off the league summit with six games to go.
Six teams are still in the running for the title at this late stage in the season and the final weeks are shaping up to be frenetic, but Cocu does not view the cup competition as a distraction.
“It would be great to lift the trophy, a few weeks after I was appointed caretaker manager, but it is of paramount importance for the team in particular to win the cup”, said Cocu, who replaced Fred Rutten as coach last month on an interim basis until the end of the season.
“The league and the Dutch Cup are equally important to me.
“It’s a trophy that’s there to be won. It will be a big day for the players. I need not tell them how big a game this is. As a player, you don’t get that many opportunities to win a trophy.
“This week, it’s all about the cup final. It’s a trophy that’s important to win.”
PSV have overcome three top-flight sides on their way to the final, with FC Twente and NEC Nijmegen ousted before their 3-1 triumph over Heerenveen in the semi-finals.
Another win over Eredivisie opposition tomorrow would book PSV’s place in Europe for next season, but Cocu believes the most significant reward would be the boost to their confidence.
“Lifting the cup would inspire confidence to the team as the league season enters its final stages,” the former Holland international said.
“We would of course be happy to win the cup and book a place in a European competition next season, but we also have a specific aim in mind. We will start to focus on that after Sunday’s Dutch Cup final.”
Heracles go into the final as huge underdogs after their surprise run.
After routine wins over De Graafschap and RKC Waalwijk earlier in the competition, Heracles caught the imagination with an impressive 4-2 victory over Eredivisie title-chasers AZ Alkmaar in the final four.
The cup run is in stark contrast to the club’s league form, which has brought five defeats in their last six outings to leave them seven points above the relegation zone, but Heracles coach Peter Bosz insists anything can happen at De Kuip.
“There’s always a chance to win a trophy when you play the final, but PSV are clear favourites,” he said.
“Yet we will give our all. We are happy to have reached the final and we think we’re capable of beating any side on the day.
“Winning trophies, that’s what it’s all about. This is a big day for many of our players who have just started making their name in football and it is a very big day for Heracles football club.”
Article source: http://www.soccer365.com/news/european_news/general/14227/cocu__psv_want_dutch_cup_prize