Feyenoord close in on Champions League, hopes rise for Excelsior

Feyenoord are on the brink of playing in next year’s Champions League group stage after staging a late comeback at Fortuna while rivals NEC, Ajax and Twente all dropped points.

Fortuna, who still had faint hopes of the Conference League playoffs at kick-off, took the lead through a Kaj Sierhuis header early in the second half.

Robin van Persie’s side played the last 15 minutes with an extra man after Paul Gladon was sent off for clattering into Feyenoord’s goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther and turned the match around with goals from two defenders.

Tsuyoshi Watanabe nodded in an equaliser in the 84th minute after Mattijs Branderhorst parried Matt Ayase Ueda’s header, before Givairo Reid looped a deflected shot over Brandenhorst in the last minute.

The result gives Feyenoord a five-point cushion with two matches left to play after third-placed NEC could only draw 1-1 at home to Telstar, who stay just above the relegation play-off zone.

Telstar took the lead against the run of play in the first half when Sem van Duijn put away a loose ball on the edge of the area.

Tjaronn Chery slid in an equaliser five minutes from time and NEC were briefly celebrating all three points when Youssef El Kachati hooked in a rebound, but the VAR spotted that the former Telstar striker had strayed offside.

Ajax also needed a late goal to claim a point against PSV in a match that was far from a classic.

PSV took the lead after just 34 seconds when a long throw into the penalty area drifted over the defence and was nodded by Ricardo Pepi. Anton Gaaei levelled the scores after 10 minutes when he drilled in a shot in a well-worked corner routine.

Substitute Myron Boadu bundled in what looked to be a late winner for PSV, but in injury time Gaaei forced a save from Matej Kovar with a diagonal shot and the ball fell to Mika Godts, who fired the ball back into the bottom corner.

Twente seemed on course to draw level on points with NEC when they took a 2-1 lead at AZ, but were denied when Peer Koopmeiners scored with a shot from the edge of the area in the 95th minute.

Another crucial late goal came in Groningen, where Gyan de Regt finished a counter-attack by chipping the ball over Etienne Vaessen to claim a 3-2 win that puts his team three points clear of Telstar and Volendam.

The Noord-Holland club are still in the danger zone after losing 2-0 at home to Heerenveen, who secured a spot in the Conference League play-offs with goals from Luca Oyen and Dylan Vente.

Sparta strengthened their chances of joining them after drawing at home with rivals Go Ahead Eagles. Tobias Lauritsen put Sparta 2-1 ahead early in the second half with a header, but central defender Julius Dirksen fired in a late equaliser to keep their hopes alive.

NAC will need a miracle to avoid relegation after succumbing to two late goals at Utrecht, while Heracles, whose fate was sealed last week, went down 1-0 at PEC Zwolle, who gained revenge for their 8-2 drubbing in Almelo in November.

Results

Saturday

Ajax 2-2 PSV Eindhoven

Groningen 2-3 Excelsior

NEC 1-1 Telstar

Utrecht 2-0 NAC Breda

Sunday

AZ Alkmaar 2-2 Twente Enschede

Fortuna Sittard 1-2 Feyenoord

PEC Zwolle 1-0 Heracles

Sparta 2-2 Go Ahead Eagles

Volendam 0-2 Heerenveen