The 5-2 scoreline flattered the hosts who, while staying top with the victory, had struggled after going behind to a 27th-minute Everton strike. PSV looked to have recovered from that poor start with goals from Balasz Dzsudzsak and Ola Toivonen, but their defensive fragility returned as they allowed Everton to equalise with his second on 62 minutes. The hosts, who were beaten 4-2 by NAC Breda last weekend, looked in danger of dropping more points before Heracles had Peter Reekers sent off for a second bookable offence. PSV made full use of their man advantage with goals from Toivonen, Ibrahim Afellay and Marcus Berg sealing a win they did deserve, albeit not so emphatically as the 5-2 scoreline. A goal in each half from Theo Janssen enabled FC Twente to maintain their challenge with a 2-0 defeat of De Graafschap. Janssen netted in the eighth minute and doubled the advantage in the 69th to keep the Enschede side level with PSV at the top of the table. Ajax's title aspirations took another hit today as they were held 1-1 at home by NEC Nijmegen. The Amsterdam club went in front through Mido's second-half goal, but their lead lasted just two minutes as Bram Nuytinck secured a point for the visitors. Ajax have now won just once in five Eredivisie fixtures and will have to improve that record to stay in touch at the top of the table - they are now five points behind the top two. Excelsior's clash against NAC Breda fell foul of the weather.
