Ajax kept its Dutch league title hopes alive on Sunday with a 4-1
win over PSV Eindhoven.
Siem de Jong fired Ajax in front in the 28th minute, pouncing
on a rebound from close range, before Urby Emanuelson extended the
lead with a long-range shot, three minutes before the break.
Marko Pantelic took full advantage of a defensive error by
Nordin Amrabat to score the third in the 65th.
PSV, which wasn't at its creative best, pulled a goal back
when Balazs Dzsudzsak converted an 82nd minute penalty after a
handball in the area by Jan Vertonghen.
But the league's top scorer Luis Suarez collected a pass from
Eyong Enoh in the 90th minute and rifled home an angled shot for
his 27th goal of the season.
"I don't understand why we weren't paying attention," said
PSV captain Ibrahim Afellay. "We gave Ajax too much space in our
area."
Ajax, which is seeking its first crown since 2003, stayed
third with 64 points, just one behind PSV but six adrift of FC
Twente, which beat ADO The Hague 3-1 Friday. There are seven more
rounds to play.
"The aim was to win today and we achieved it," Ajax captain
Suarez said. "We knew it was the only way for us to boost our
chances for the title."
PSV's title hopes could suffer yet another blow next Saturday
when it hosts Steve McClaren's Twente.
Earlier Sunday, defender Ron Vlaar scored in injury time to
salvage a 1-1 draw for Feyenoord against Heracles Almelo.
Vlaar's equalizer canceled out Everton's opener for Heracles
to keep Feyenoord fourth in the standings with 51 points.
Roy Beerens scored in the 83rd minute to give SC Heerenveen a
1-0 win over Vitesse Arnhem. Willem II also won 3-1 against Sparta
Rotterdam.
A Mounir El Hamdaoui hat-trick helped defending champion AZ
Alkmaar to a 6-2 win over lowly RKC Waalwijk Saturday.
Also Saturday, it was: NAC Breda 0, FC Groningen 3; VVV-Venlo
0, FC Utrecht 1 and NEC Nijmegen 0, Roda JC 2.
