El Hamdaoui scored three goals in just 12 minutes - albeit either side of half-time - as AZ kept Vitesse deep in relegation trouble just one place outside the drop zone. Heracles Almelo maintained their push for European football with a deserved win at Heerenveen. Bas Dost and Everton da Silva were the scorers for Heracles to ensure their 12th win of the season. Gerald Sibon netted Heerenveen's reply but they remain at the wrong end of the table, four points above the bottom three. Willem II did their hopes of beating the drop some good with a 2-1 win over VVV Venlo as both teams had a player sent off. Willem's Daan Van Dinter was sent off after 18 minutes and he was joined by VVV's Sandro Calabro, who was dismissed after 31 minutes. Garcia Gonzalo had given VVV the lead just 12 minutes into the game but Jan-Arie Van Der Heijden (42) and Frank Demouge (55) secured the three points.
